Optical system and assay chip for probing, detecting and analyzing molecules

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and methods for analyzing single molecule and performing nucleic acid sequencing. An apparatus can include an assay chip that includes multiple pixels with sample wells configured to receive a sample, which, when excited, emits emission energy; at least one element for directing the emission energy in a particular direction; and a light path along which the emission energy travels from the sample well toward a sensor. The apparatus also includes an instrument that interfaces with the assay chip. The instrument includes an excitation light source for exciting the sample in each sample well; a plurality of sensors corresponding the sample wells. Each sensor may detect emission energy from a sample in a respective sample well. The instrument includes at least one optical element that directs the emission energy from each sample well towards a respective sensor of the plurality of sensors.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/905,282, entitled “Integrated Device for Probing, Detecting and Analyzing Molecules,” filed Nov. 17, 2013; U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/917,926, entitled “Integrated Device for Probing, Detecting and Analyzing Molecules,” filed Dec. 18, 2013; U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/941,916, entitled “Integrated Device for Probing, Detecting and Analyzing Molecules,” filed Feb. 19, 2014, all of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present application is directed generally to devices, methods and techniques for performing rapid, massively parallel, quantitative analysis of biological and/or chemical samples, and methods of fabricating said devices.

2. Related Art

Detection and analysis of biological samples may be performed using biological assays (“bioassays”). Bioassays conventionally involve large, expensive laboratory equipment requiring research scientists trained to operate the equipment and perform the bioassays. Moreover, bioassays are conventionally performed in bulk such that a large amount of a particular type of sample is necessary for detection and quantitation.

Some bioassays are performed by tagging samples with luminescent tags that emit light of a particular wavelength. The tags are illuminated with an excitation light source to cause luminescence, and the luminescent light is detected with a photodetector to quantify the amount of luminescent light emitted by the tags. Bioassays using luminescent tags conventionally involve expensive laser light sources to illuminate samples and complicated, bulky detection optics and electronics to collect the luminescence from the illuminated samples.

SUMMARY

The technology described herein relates to apparatus and methods for analyzing specimens rapidly using an assay chip and instrument. The assay chip may be in the form of a disposable or recyclable chip that is configured to receive a small amount of a specimen and execute, in parallel, a large number of analyses of samples within the specimen. The assay chip and instrument may be used to detect the presence of particular chemical or biological analytes in some embodiments, to evaluate a chemical or biological reactions in some embodiments, and to determine genetic sequences in some embodiments. According to some implementations, the integrated device may be used for single-molecule gene sequencing.

According to some implementations, a user deposits a specimen in a chamber on the assay chip, and inserts the assay chip into a receiving instrument. The instrument, alone or in communication with a computer, automatically interfaces with the integrated device, sends and receives light from the assay chip, detects and processes the received light, and provides results of the analysis to the user.

According to some embodiments, an assay chip includes a sample well configured to receive a sample, which, when excited, emits emission energy; at least one element that directs the emission energy in a particular direction; and a light path along which the emission energy travels from the sample well toward a sensor. The at least one element is selected from the group consisting of a refractive element, a diffractive element, a plasmonic element and a resonator.

According to some embodiments, an instrument configured to interface with an assay chip including a plurality of sample wells, each sample well of the plurality of sample wells configured to receive a sample, the instrument include at least one excitation light source configured to excite the sample of at least a portion of the plurality of sample wells; a plurality of sensors, each sensor of the plurality of sensors corresponding to a sample well of the plurality of sample wells, wherein each sensor of the plurality of sensors is configured to detect emission energy from the sample in a respective sample well; and at least one optical element configured to direct the emission energy from each sample well of the plurality of sample wells towards a respective sensor of the plurality of sensors.

According to some embodiments, an apparatus includes an assay chip including a plurality of pixels and an instrument configured to interface with the assay chip. Each of the plurality of pixels of the assay chip includes a sample well configured to receive a sample, which, when excited, emits emission energy; at least one element for directing the emission energy in a particular direction, wherein the at least one element is selected from the group consisting of a refractive element, a diffractive element, a plasmonic element and a resonator; and a light path along which the emission energy travels from the sample well toward a sensor. The instrument includes at least one excitation light source configured to excite the sample in each sample well; a plurality of sensors, each sensor of the plurality of sensors corresponding to a respective sample well, wherein each sensor of the plurality of sensors is configured to detect emission energy from the sample in the respective sample well; and at least one optical element configured to direct the emission energy from each sample well towards a respective sensor of the plurality of sensors.

According to some embodiments, a method of analyzing a specimen includes providing the specimen on the top surface of an assay chip comprising a plurality of sample wells; aligning the chip with an instrument comprising at least one excitation light source and at least one sensor; exciting a sample from the specimen in at least one of the plurality of sample wells with excitation light from the at least one excitation light source; and detecting, with the at least one sensor, emission energy generated by the sample in the at least one sample well in response to excitation by the excitation light.

According to some embodiments, a method for sequencing a target nucleic acid molecule includes: (a) providing a chip adjacent to an instrument that includes an excitation source and a sensor, wherein said chip includes at least one well that is operatively coupled to said excitation source and said sensor when said chip is at a sensing position of said instrument, and wherein said well contains said target nucleic acid molecule, a polymerizing enzyme and a plurality of types of nucleotides or nucleotide analogs; (b) with said chip at said sensing position, performing an extension reaction at a priming location of said target nucleic acid molecule in the presence of said polymerizing enzyme to sequentially incorporate said nucleotides or nucleotide analogs into a growing strand that is complementary to said target nucleic acid molecule, wherein upon incorporation and excitation by excitation energy from said excitation source, said nucleotides or nucleotides analogs emit signals in said well; (c) using said sensor to detect spatial and/or temporal distribution patterns of said signals that are distinguishable for said plurality of types of nucleotides or nucleotide analogs; and (d) identifying said nucleotides or nucleotide analogs based on said spatial and/or temporal distribution patterns of said signals, thereby sequencing said target nucleic acid molecule.

According to some embodiments, a method for nucleic acid sequencing includes: (a) providing a chip adjacent to an instrument, wherein said chip includes a plurality of wells that are each operatively coupled to (i) an excitation source and (ii) a sensor of said instrument when said chip is at a sensing position of said instrument, and wherein an individual well of said plurality contains said target nucleic acid molecule, a polymerizing enzyme and a plurality of types of nucleotides or nucleotide analogs; (b) with said chip at said sensing position, subjecting said target nucleic acid molecule to a polymerization reaction to yield a growing strand that is complementary to said target nucleic acid molecule in the presence of said nucleotides or nucleotide analogs and said polymerizing enzyme, wherein said nucleotides or nucleotides analogs emit signals in said individual well upon excitation by excitation energy from said excitation source during incorporation; (c) using said sensor to detect spatial and/or temporal distribution patterns of said signals that are distinguishable for said plurality of types of nucleotides or nucleotide analogs; and (d) identifying a sequence of said target nucleic acid molecule based on said spatial and/or temporal distribution patterns of said signals.

The foregoing and other aspects, embodiments, and features of the present teachings can be more fully understood from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The term “pixel” may be used in the present disclosure to refer to a unit cell of an integrated device. The unit cell may include a sample well and a sensor. The unit cell may further include an excitation source. The unit cell may further include at least one excitation-coupling optical structure (which may be referred to as a “first structure”) that is configured to enhance coupling of excitation energy from the excitation source to the sample well. The unit cell may further include at least one emission-coupling structure that is configured to enhance coupling of emission from the sample well to the sensor. The unit cell may further include integrated electronic devices (e.g., CMOS devices). There may be a plurality of pixels arranged in an array on an integrated device.

The term “optical” may be used in the present disclosure to refer to visible, near infrared, and short-wavelength infrared spectral bands.

The term “tag” may be used in the present disclosure to refer to a tag, probe, marker, or reporter attached to a sample to be analyzed or attached to a reactant that may be reacted with a sample.

The phrase “excitation energy” may be used in the present disclosure to refer to any form of energy (e.g., radiative or non-radiative) delivered to a sample and/or tag within the sample well. Radiative excitation energy may comprise optical radiation at one or more characteristic wavelengths.

The phrase “characteristic wavelength” may be used in the present disclosure to refer to a central or predominant wavelength within a limited bandwidth of radiation. In some cases, it may refer to a peak wavelength of a bandwidth of radiation. Examples of characteristic wavelengths of fluorophores are 563 nm, 595 nm, 662 nm, and 687 nm.

The phrase “characteristic energy” may be used in the present disclosure to refer to an energy associated with a characteristic wavelength.

The term “emission” may be used in the present disclosure to refer to emission from a tag and/or sample. This may include radiative emission (e.g., optical emission) or non-radiative energy transfer (e.g., Dexter energy transfer or Förster resonant energy transfer). Emission results from excitation of a sample and/or tag within the sample well.

The phrase “emission from a sample well” or “emission from a sample” may be used in the present disclosure to refer to emission from a tag and/or sample within a sample well.

The term “self-aligned” may be used in the present disclosure to refer to a microfabrication process in which at least two distinct elements (e.g., a sample well and an emission-coupling structure, a sample well and an excitation-source) may be fabricated and aligned to each other without using two separate lithographic patterning steps in which a first lithographic patterning step (e.g., photolithography, ion-beam lithography, EUV lithography) prints a pattern of a first element and a second lithographic patterning step is aligned to the first lithographic patterning step and prints a pattern of the second element. A self-aligned process may comprise including the pattern of both the first and second element in a single lithographic patterning step, or may comprise forming the second element using features of a fabricated structure of the first element.

The term “sensor” may be used in the present disclosure to refer to one or more integrated circuit devices configured to sense emission from the sample well and produce at least one electrical signal representative of the sensed emission.

The term “nano-scale” may be used in the present disclosure to refer to a structure having at least one dimension or minimum feature size on the order of 150 nanometers (nm) or less, but not greater than approximately 500 nm.

The term “micro-scale” may be used in the present disclosure to refer to a structure having at least one dimension or minimum feature size between approximately 500 nm and approximately 100 microns.

The phrase “enhance excitation energy” may be used in the present disclosure to refer to increasing an intensity of excitation energy at an excitation region of a sample well. The intensity may be increased by concentrating and/or resonating excitation energy incident on the sample well, for example. In some cases, the intensity may be increased by anti-reflective coatings or lossy layers that allow the excitation energy to penetrate further into the excitation region of a sample well. An enhancement of excitation energy may be a comparative reference to an embodiment that does not include structures to enhance the excitation energy at an excitation region of a sample well.

The terms “about,” “approximately,” and “substantially” may be used in the present disclosure to refer to a value, and are intended to encompass the referenced value plus and minus acceptable variations. The amount of variation could be less than 5% in some embodiments, less than 10% in some embodiments, and yet less than 20% in some embodiments. In embodiments where an apparatus may function properly over a large range of values, e.g., a range including one or more orders of magnitude, the amount of variation could be a factor of two. For example, if an apparatus functions properly for a value ranging from 20 to 350, “approximately 80” may encompass values between 40 and 160.

The term “adjacent” may be used in the present disclosure to refer to two elements arranged within close proximity to one another (e.g., within a distance that is less than about one-fifth of a transverse or vertical dimension of a pixel). In some cases there may be intervening structures or layers between adjacent elements. I some cases adjacent elements may be immediately adjacent to one another with no intervening structures or elements.

The term “detect” may be used in the present disclosure to refer to receiving an emission at a sensor from a sample well and producing at least one electrical signal representative of or associated with the emission. The term “detect” may also be used in the present disclosure to refer to determining the presence of, or identifying a property of, a particular sample or tag in the sample well based upon emission from the sample well.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

The skilled artisan will understand that the figures, described herein, are for illustration purposes only. It is to be understood that in some instances various aspects of the invention may be shown exaggerated or enlarged to facilitate an understanding of the invention. In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to like features, functionally similar and/or structurally similar elements throughout the various figures. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the teachings. The drawings are not intended to limit the scope of the present teachings in any way.

FIG. 1-1 depicts emission wavelength spectra, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 1-2A depicts absorption wavelength spectra, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 1-2B depicts emission wavelength spectra, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2-1 is a block diagram representation of an apparatus that may be used for rapid, mobile analysis of biological and chemical specimens, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2-2 a schematic diagram of the relationship between pixels of the sensor chip and pixels of the assay chip, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2-3 depicts components associated with a single pixel of the assay chip and a single pixel of the sensor chip, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2-4 depicts a portion of the components of the instrument, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3-1A is a top view of the assay chip and a chip holder frame, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3-1B is a bottom view of the assay chip and the chip holder frame, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3-1C depicts the assay chip and the chip holder frame, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3-2 depicts excitation energy incident on a sample well, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3-3 illustrates attenuation of excitation energy along a sample well that is formed as a zero-mode waveguide, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3-4 depicts a sample well that includes a divot, which increases excitation energy at an excitation region associated with the sample well in some embodiments.

FIG. 3-5 compares excitation intensities for sample wells with and without a divot, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3-6 depicts a sample well and divot formed at a protrusion, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3-7A depicts a sample well having tapered sidewalls, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3-7B depicts a sample well having curved sidewalls and a divot with a smaller transverse dimension, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3-7C and FIG. 3-7D depict a sample well formed from surface plasmonic structures.

FIG. 3-7E depicts a sample well that includes an excitation-energy-enhancing structure formed along sidewalls of the sample well, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3-7F depicts a sample well formed in a multi-layer stack, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3-8 illustrates surface coating formed on surfaces of a sample well, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3-9A through FIG. 3-9E depict structures associated with a lift-off process of forming a sample well, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3-9F depicts a structure associated with an alternative lift-off process of forming a sample well, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3-10A through FIG. 3-10D depict structures associated with a direct etching process of forming a sample well, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3-11 depicts a sample well that may be formed in multiple layers using a lift-off process or a direct etching process, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3-12 depicts a structure associated with an etching process that may be used to form a divot, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3-13A through FIG. 3-13C depict structures associated with an alternative process of forming a divot, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3-14A through FIG. 3-14D depict structures associated with a process for depositing an adherent and passivating layers, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3-15 depicts a structure associated with a process for depositing an adherent centrally within a sample well, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4-1A and FIG. 4-1B depict a surface-plasmon structure, according to just one embodiment.

FIG. 4-1C depicts a surface-plasmon structure formed adjacent a sample well, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4-1D and FIG. 4-1E depict surface-plasmon structures formed in a sample well, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4-2A through FIG. 4-2C depict examples of periodic surface-plasmon structures, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4-2D depicts a numerical simulation of excitation energy at a sample well-formed adjacent a periodic surface-plasmon structure, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4-2E through FIG. 4-2G depict periodic surface-plasmon structures, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4-2H and FIG. 4-2I depict a nano-antenna comprising surface-plasmon structures, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4-3A through FIG. 4-3E depict structures associated with process steps for forming a surface-plasmon structure, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4-4A through FIG. 4-4G depict structures associated with process steps for forming a surface-plasmon structure and self-aligned sample well, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4-5A through FIG. 4-5E depict structures associated with process steps for forming a surface-plasmon structure and self-aligned sample well, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4-6A depicts a thin lossy film formed adjacent a sample well, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4-6B and FIG. 4-6C depict results from numerical simulations of excitation energy in the vicinity of a sample well and thin lossy film, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4-6D depicts a thin lossy film spaced from a sample well, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4-6E depicts a thin lossy film stack formed adjacent a sample well, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4-7A illustrates a reflective stack that may be used to form a resonant cavity adjacent a sample well, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4-7B depicts a dielectric structure that may be used to concentrate excitation energy at a sample well, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4-7C and FIG. 4-7D depict a photonic bandgap structure that may be patterned adjacent a sample well, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4-8A through FIG. 4-8G depict structures associated with process steps for forming dielectric structures and a self-aligned sample well, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4-9A and FIG. 4-9B depict structures for coupling excitation energy to a sample via a non-radiative process, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4-9C depicts a structure for coupling excitation energy to a sample by multiple non-radiative processes, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4-9D depicts a structure that incorporates one or more energy-converting particles to couple excitation energy to a sample via a radiative or non-radiative process, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4-9E depicts spectra associated with down conversion of excitation energy to a sample, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4-9F depicts spectra associated with up conversion of excitation energy to a sample, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5-1 depicts a concentric, plasmonic circular grating, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5-2 depicts a spiral plasmonic grating, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5-3 depict emission spatial distribution patterns from a concentric, plasmonic circular grating, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5-4A through FIG. 5-4B depict plasmonic nano-antennas, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5-5A through FIG. 5-5B depict plasmonic nano-antennas, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5-6A depicts refractive optics of the assay chip, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5-6B depicts Fresnel lenses of the assay chip, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6-1 depicts microscopy components of the instrument, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6-2A depicts far-field spectral sorting elements of the sensor chip, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6-2B depicts far-field filtering elements of the sensor chip, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6-3A and FIG. 6-3B depict thin lossy films of the sensor chip, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6-4 depicts the optical block of the instrument, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-1A depicts, in elevation view, a sensor within a pixel of a sensor chip, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-1B depicts a bulls-eye sensor having two separate and concentric active areas, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-1C depicts a stripe sensor having four separate active areas, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-1D depicts a quad sensor having four separate active areas, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-1E depicts an arc-segment sensor having four separate active areas, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-1F depicts a stacked-segment sensor, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-2A depicts an emission distribution from the sorting elements for energy emitted at a first wavelength, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-2B depicts a radiation pattern received by a bulls-eye sensor corresponding to the emission distribution depicted in FIG. 7-2A, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-2C depicts an emission distribution from the sorting elements for energy emitted at a second wavelength, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-2D depicts a radiation pattern received by a bulls-eye sensor corresponding to the emission distribution depicted in FIG. 7-2C, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-2E represents results from a numerical simulation of signal detection for a bulls-eye sensor having two active areas for a first emission wavelength from a sample, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-2F represents results from a numerical simulation of signal detection for the bulls-eye sensor associated with FIG. 7-2E for a second emission wavelength from a sample, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-2G represents results from a numerical simulation of signal detection for the bulls-eye sensor associated with FIG. 7-2E for a third emission wavelength from a sample, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-2H represents results from a numerical simulation of signal detection for the bulls-eye sensor associated with FIG. 7-2E for a fourth emission wavelength from a sample, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-2I represents results from a numerical simulation of signal detection for a bulls-eye sensor having four active areas for a first emission wavelength from a sample, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-2J represents results from a numerical simulation of signal detection for the bulls-eye sensor associated with FIG. 7-2I for a second emission wavelength from a sample, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-3A depicts circuitry on an instrument that may be used to read signals from a sensor comprising two active areas, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-3B depicts a three-transistor circuit that may be included at a sensor chip for signal accumulation and read-out, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-3C depicts circuitry on an instrument that may be used to read signals from a sensor comprising four active areas, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-4A depicts temporal emission characteristics for two different emitters that may be used for sample analysis, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-4B depicts temporal evolution of an excitation source and luminescence from a sample, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-4C illustrates time-delay sampling, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-4D depicts temporal emission characteristics for two different emitters, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-4E depicts voltage dynamics at a charge-accumulation node of a sensor, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-4F depicts a double read of a sensor segment without reset, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7-4G and FIG. 7-4H illustrate first and second read signal levels associated with two emitters having temporally-distinct emission characteristics, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8-1A and FIG. 8-1B depict spectral excitation bands of excitation sources, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 9-1 depicts a method of operation of a compact apparatus that may be used for rapid, mobile analysis of biological and chemical specimens, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 9-2 depicts a calibration procedure, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 9-3 depicts a data-analysis procedure, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 10 depicts a computing environment, according to some embodiments.

The features and advantages of embodiments of the present application will become more apparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Inventor's Recognition of the Problem and Solution Thereto

The inventors have recognized and appreciated that conventional apparatuses for performing bioassays are large, expensive and require advanced laboratory techniques to perform. Many types of bioassays depend on the detection of single molecules in a specimen. Conventionally single molecule detection may require large, bulky laser systems used to generate high intensity light needed for excitation of molecules. In addition, bulky optical components may be used to direct the laser light to the specimen and additional optical components may be used to direct luminescent light from the specimen to a sensor. These conventional optical components may require precise alignment and stabilization. The conventional laboratory equipment and training required to use this conventional equipment may result in complex, expensive bioassays.

The inventors have recognized and appreciated that there is a need for a device that can simply and inexpensively analyze biological and/or chemical specimens to determine the identity of its constituent parts. An application of such device may be for sequencing a biomolecule, such as a nucleic acid molecule or a polypeptide (e.g., protein) having a plurality of amino acids. A compact, high-speed apparatus for performing detection and quantitation of single molecules or particles could reduce the cost of performing complex quantitative measurements of biological and/or chemical samples and rapidly advance the rate of biochemical technological discoveries. Moreover, a cost-effective device that is readily transportable could transform not only the way bioassays are performed in the developed world, but provide people in developing regions, for the first time, ready access to essential diagnostic tests that could dramatically improve their health and well-being. For example, in some embodiments, an apparatus for performing bioassays is used to perform diagnostic tests of biological samples, such as blood, urine and/or saliva. The apparatus may be used by individuals in their home, by a doctor in a remote clinics in developing countries or any other location, such as rural doctors' offices. Such diagnostic tests can include the detection of biomolecules in a biological sample of a subject, such as a nucleic acid molecule or protein. In some examples, diagnostic tests include sequencing a nucleic acid molecule in a biological sample of a subject, such as sequencing of cell free deoxyribonucleic acid molecules or expression products in a biological sample of the subject.

The term “nucleic acid,” as used herein, generally refers to a molecule comprising one or more nucleic acid subunits. A nucleic acid may include one or more subunits selected from adenosine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), thymine (T) and uracil (U), or variants thereof. In some examples, a nucleic acid is deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or ribonucleic acid (RNA), or derivatives thereof. A nucleic acid may be single-stranded or double stranded. A nucleic acid may be circular.

The term “nucleotide,” as used herein, generally refers to a nucleic acid subunit, which can include A, C, G, T or U, or variants or analogs thereof. A nucleotide can include any subunit that can be incorporated into a growing nucleic acid strand. Such subunit can be an A, C, G, T, or U, or any other subunit that is specific to one or more complementary A, C, G, T or U, or complementary to a purine (i.e., A or G, or variant or analogs thereof) or a pyrimidine (i.e., C, T or U, or variant or analogs thereof). A subunit can enable individual nucleic acid bases or groups of bases (e.g., AA, TA, AT, GC, CG, CT, TC, GT, TG, AC, CA, or uracil-counterparts thereof) to be resolved.

A nucleotide generally includes a nucleoside and at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or more phosphate (PO3) groups. A nucleotide can include a nucleobase, a five-carbon sugar (either ribose or deoxyribose), and one or more phosphate groups. Ribonucleotides are nucleotides in which the sugar is ribose. Deoxyribonucleotides are nucleotides in which the sugar is deoxyribose. A nucleotide can be a nucleoside monophosphate or a nucleoside polyphosphate. A nucleotide can be a deoxyribonucleoside polyphosphate, such as, e.g., a deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate, which can be selected from deoxyadenosine triphosphate (dATP), deoxycytidine triphosphate (dCTP), deoxyguanosine triphosphate (dGTP), deoxyuridine triphosphate (dUTP) and deoxythymidine triphosphate (dTTP) dNTPs, that include detectable tags, such as luminescent tags or markers (e.g., fluorophores).

A nucleoside polyphosphate can have ‘n’ phosphate groups, where ‘n’ is a number that is greater than or equal to 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10. Examples of nucleoside polyphosphates include nucleoside diphosphate and nucleoside triphosphate. A nucleotide can be a terminal phosphate labeled nucleoside, such as a terminal phosphate labeled nucleoside polyphosphate. Such label can be a luminescent (e.g., fluorescent or chemiluminescent) label, a fluorogenic label, a colored label, a chromogenic label, a mass tag, an electrostatic label, or an electrochemical label. A label (or marker) can be coupled to a terminal phosphate through a linker. The linker can include, for example, at least one or a plurality of hydroxyl groups, sulfhydryl groups, amino groups or haloalkyl groups, which may be suitable for forming, for example, a phosphate ester, a thioester, a phosphoramidate or an alkyl phosphonate linkage at the terminal phosphate of a natural or modified nucleotide. A linker can be cleavable so as to separate a label from the terminal phosphate, such as with the aid of a polymerization enzyme. Examples of nucleotides and linkers are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 7,041,812, which is entirely incorporated herein by reference.

The term “polymerase,” as used herein, generally refers to any enzyme (or polymerizing enzyme) capable of catalyzing a polymerization reaction. Examples of polymerases include, without limitation, a nucleic acid polymerase, a transcriptase or a ligase. A polymerase can be a polymerization enzyme.

The term “genome” generally refers to an entirety of an organism's hereditary information. A genome can be encoded either in DNA or in RNA. A genome can comprise coding regions that code for proteins as well as non-coding regions. A genome can include the sequence of all chromosomes together in an organism. For example, the human genome has a total of 46 chromosomes. The sequence of all of these together constitutes the human genome.

The present disclosure provides devices, systems and methods for detecting biomolecules or subunits thereof, such as nucleic acid molecules. Such detection can include sequencing. A biomolecule may be extracted from a biological sample obtained from a subject. The biological sample may be extracted from a bodily fluid or tissue of the subject, such as breath, saliva, urine or blood (e.g., whole blood or plasma). The subject may be suspected of having a health condition, such as a disease (e.g., cancer). In some examples, one or more nucleic acid molecules are extracted from the bodily fluid or tissue of the subject. The one or more nucleic acids may be extracted from one or more cells obtained from the subject, such as part of a tissue of the subject, or obtained from a cell-free bodily fluid of the subject, such as whole blood.

A biological sample may be processed in preparation for detection (e.g., sequencing). Such processing can include isolation and/or purification of the biomolecule (e.g., nucleic acid molecule) from the biological sample, and generation of more copies of the biomolecule. In some examples, one or more nucleic acid molecules are isolated and purified form a bodily fluid or tissue of the subject, and amplified through nucleic acid amplification, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Then, the one or more nucleic acids molecules or subunits thereof can be identified, such as through sequencing.

Sequencing can include the determination of individual subunits of a template biomolecule (e.g., nucleic acid molecule) by synthesizing another biomolecule that is complementary or analogous to the template, such as by synthesizing a nucleic acid molecule that is complementary to a template nucleic acid molecule and identifying the incorporation of nucleotides with time (i.e., sequencing by synthesis). As an alternative, sequencing can include the direct identification of individual subunits of the biomolecule.

During sequencing, signals indicative of individual subunits of a biomolecule may be collected in memory and processed in real time or at a later point in time to determine a sequence of the biomolecule. Such processing can include a comparison of the signals to reference signals that enable the identification of the individual subunits, which in some cases yields reads. Reads may be sequences of sufficient length (e.g., at least about 30 base pairs (bp)) that can be used to identify a larger sequence or region, e.g., that can be aligned to a location on a chromosome or genomic region or gene.

Sequence reads can be used to reconstruct a longer region of a genome of a subject (alignment). Reads can be used to reconstruct chromosomal regions, whole chromosomes, or the whole genome. Sequence reads or a larger sequence generated from such reads can be used to analyze a genome of a subject, such as identify variants or polymorphisms. Examples of variants include, but are not limited to, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) including tandem SNPs, small-scale multi-base deletions or insertions, also referred to as indels or deletion insertion polymorphisms or DIPs), Multi-Nucleotide Polymorphisms (MNPs), Short Tandem Repeats (STRs), deletions, including microdeletions, insertions, including microinsertions, structural variations, including duplications, inversions, translocations, multiplications, complex multi-site variants, copy number variations (CNV). Genomic sequences can comprise combinations of variants. For example, genomic sequences can encompass the combination of one or more SNPs and one or more CNVs.

Individual subunits of biomolecules may be identified using markers. In some examples, luminescent markers are used to identified individual subunits of biomolecules. Some embodiments use luminescent markers (also referred to herein as “markers”), which may be exogenous or endogenous markers. Exogenous markers may be external luminescent markers used as a reporter and/or tag for luminescent labeling. Examples of exogenous markers may include, but are not limited to, fluorescent molecules, fluorophores, fluorescent dyes, fluorescent stains, organic dyes, fluorescent proteins, species that participate in fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), enzymes, and/or quantum dots. Other exogenous markers are known in the art. Such exogenous markers may be conjugated to a probe or functional group (e.g., molecule, ion, and/or ligand) that specifically binds to a particular target or component. Attaching an exogenous tag or reporter to a probe allows identification of the target through detection of the presence of the exogenous tag or reporter. Examples of probes may include proteins, nucleic acid (e.g., DNA, RNA) molecules, lipids and antibody probes. The combination of an exogenous marker and a functional group may form any suitable probes, tags, and/or labels used for detection, including molecular probes, labeled probes, hybridization probes, antibody probes, protein probes (e.g., biotin-binding probes), enzyme labels, fluorescent probes, fluorescent tags, and/or enzyme reporters.

Although the present disclosure makes reference to luminescent markers, other types of markers may be used with devices, systems and methods provided herein. Such markers may be mass tags, electrostatic tags, or electrochemical labels.

While exogenous markers may be added to a sample, endogenous markers may be already part of the sample. Endogenous markers may include any luminescent marker present that may luminesce or “autofluoresce” in the presence of excitation energy. Autofluorescence of endogenous fluorophores may provide for label-free and noninvasive labeling without requiring the introduction of exogenous fluorophores. Examples of such endogenous fluorophores may include hemoglobin, oxyhemoglobin, lipids, collagen and elastin crosslinks, reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), oxidized flavins (FAD and FMN), lipofuscin, keratin, and/or prophyrins, by way of example and not limitation.

While some embodiments may be directed to diagnostic testing by detecting single molecules in a specimen, the inventors have also recognized that the single molecule detection capabilities of the present disclosure may be used to perform polypeptide (e.g., protein) sequencing or nucleic acid (e.g., DNA, RNA) sequencing of one or more nucleic acid segments of, for example, genes. Nucleic acid sequencing technologies may vary in the methods used to determine the nucleic acid sequence as well as in the rate, read length, and incidence of errors in the sequencing process. For example, some nucleic acid sequencing methods are based on sequencing by synthesis, in which the identity of a nucleotide is determined as the nucleotide is incorporated into a newly synthesized strand of nucleic acid that is complementary to the target nucleic acid.

During sequencing, a polymerizing enzyme may couple (e.g., attach) to a priming location of a target nucleic acid molecule. The priming location can be a primer that is complementary to the target nucleic acid molecule. As an alternative the priming location is a gap or nick that is provided within a double stranded segment of the target nucleic acid molecule. A gap or nick can be from 0 to at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20, 30, or 40 nucleotides in length. A nick can provide a break in one strand of a double stranded sequence, which can provide a priming location for a polymerizing enzyme, such as, for example, a strand displacing polymerase enzyme.

In some cases, a sequencing primer can be annealed to a target nucleic acid molecule that may or may not be immobilized to a solid support, such as a sample well. In some embodiments, a sequencing primer may be immobilized to a solid support and hybridization of the target nucleic acid molecule also immobilizes the target nucleic acid molecule to the solid support. Via the action of an enzyme (e.g., a polymerase) capable of adding or incorporating a nucleotide to the primer, nucleotides can be added to the primer in 5′ to 3′, template bound fashion. Such incorporation of nucleotides to a primer (e.g., via the action of a polymerase) can generally be referred to as a primer extension reaction. Each nucleotide can be associated with a detectable tag that can be detected and used to determine each nucleotide incorporated into the primer and, thus, a sequence of the newly synthesized nucleic acid molecule. Via sequence complementarity of the newly synthesized nucleic acid molecule, the sequence of the target nucleic acid molecule can also be determined. In some cases, annealing of a sequencing primer to a target nucleic acid molecule and incorporation of nucleotides to the sequencing primer can occur at similar reaction conditions (e.g., the same or similar reaction temperature) or at differing reaction conditions (e.g., different reaction temperatures). Moreover, some sequencing by synthesis methods can include the presence of a population of target nucleic acid molecules (e.g., copies of a target nucleic acid) and/or a step of amplification of the target nucleic acid to achieve a population of target nucleic acids.

Embodiments are capable of sequencing single nucleic acid molecules with high accuracy and long read lengths, such as an accuracy of at least about 50%, 60%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, 99.9%, 99.99%, 99.999%, or 99.9999%, and/or read lengths greater than or equal to about 10 base pairs (bp), 50 bp, 100 bp, 200 bp, 300 bp, 400 bp, 500 bp, 1000 bp, 10,000 bp, 20,000 bp, 30,000 bp, 40,000 bp, 50,000 bp, or 100,000 bp. In some embodiments, the target nucleic acid molecule used in single molecule sequencing is a single stranded target nucleic acid (e.g., deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), DNA derivatives, ribonucleic acid (RNA), RNA derivatives) template that is added or immobilized to a sample well containing at least one additional component of a sequencing reaction (e.g., a polymerase such as, a DNA polymerase, a sequencing primer) immobilized or attached to a solid support such as the bottom of the sample well. The target nucleic acid molecule or the polymerase can be attached to a sample wall, such as at the bottom of the sample well directly or through a linker. The sample well can also contain any other reagents needed for nucleic acid synthesis via a primer extension reaction, such as, for example suitable buffers, co-factors, enzymes (e.g., a polymerase) and deoxyribonucleoside polyphosphates, such as, e.g., deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates, including deoxyadenosine triphosphate (dATP), deoxycytidine triphosphate (dCTP), deoxyguanosine triphosphate (dGTP), deoxyuridine triphosphate (dUTP) and deoxythymidine triphosphate (dTTP) dNTPs, that include luminescent tags, such as fluorophores. Each class of dNTPs (e.g. adenine-containing dNTPs (e.g., dATP), cytosine-containing dNTPs (e.g., dCTP), guanine-containing dNTPs (e.g., dGTP), uracil-containing dNTPs (e.g., dUTPs) and thymine-containing dNTPs (e.g., dTTP)) is conjugated to a distinct luminescent tag such that detection of light emitted from the tag indicates the identity of the dNTP that was incorporated into the newly synthesized nucleic acid. Emitted light from the luminescent tag can be detected and attributed to its appropriate luminescent tag (and, thus, associated dNTP) via any suitable device and/or method, including such devices and methods for detection described elsewhere herein. The luminescent tag may be conjugated to the dNTP at any position such that the presence of the luminescent tag does not inhibit the incorporation of the dNTP into the newly synthesized nucleic acid strand or the activity of the polymerase. In some embodiments, the luminescent tag is conjugated to the terminal phosphate (the gamma phosphate) of the dNTP.

The single-stranded target nucleic acid template can be contacted with a sequencing primer, dNTPs, polymerase and other reagents necessary for nucleic acid synthesis. In some embodiments, all appropriate dNTPs can be contacted with the single-stranded target nucleic acid template simultaneously (e.g., all dNTPs are simultaneously present) such that incorporation of dNTPs can occur continuously. In other embodiments, the dNTPs can be contacted with the single-stranded target nucleic acid template sequentially, where the single-stranded target nucleic acid template is contacted with each appropriate dNTP separately, with washing steps in between contact of the single-stranded target nucleic acid template with differing dNTPs. Such a cycle of contacting the single-stranded target nucleic acid template with each dNTP separately followed by washing can be repeated for each successive base position of the single-stranded target nucleic acid template to be identified.

The sequencing primer anneals to the single-stranded target nucleic acid template and the polymerase consecutively incorporates the dNTPs (or other deoxyribonucleoside polyphosphate) to the primer via the single-stranded target nucleic acid template. The unique luminescent tag associated with each incorporated dNTP can be excited with the appropriate excitation light during or after incorporation of the dNTP to the primer and its emission can be subsequently detected, using, any suitable device(s) and/or method(s), including devices and methods for detection described elsewhere herein. Detection of a particular emission of light can be attributed to a particular dNTP incorporated. The sequence obtained from the collection of detected luminescent tags can then be used to determine the sequence of the single-stranded target nucleic acid template via sequence complementarity.

While the present disclosure makes reference to dNTPs, devices, systems and methods provided herein may be used with various types of nucleotides, such as ribonucleotides and deoxyribonucleotides (e.g., deoxyribonucleoside polyphophates with at least 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 phosphate groups). Such ribonucleotides and deoxyribonucleotides can include various types of tags (or markers) and linkers.

Signals emitted upon the incorporation of nucleosides can be stored in memory and processed at a later point in time to determine the sequence of the target nucleic acid template. This may include comparing the signals to a reference signals to determine the identities of the incorporated nucleosides as a function of time. Alternative or in addition to, signal emitted upon the incorporation of nucleoside can be collected and processed in real time (i.e., upon nucleoside incorporation) to determine the sequence of the target nucleic acid template in real time.

Nucleic acid sequencing of a plurality of single-stranded target nucleic acid templates may be completed where multiple sample wells are available, as is the case in devices described elsewhere herein. Each sample well can be provided with a single-stranded target nucleic acid template and a sequencing reaction can be completed in each sample well. Each of the sample wells may be contacted with the appropriate reagents (e.g., dNTPs, sequencing primers, polymerase, co-factors, appropriate buffers, etc.) necessary for nucleic acid synthesis during a primer extension reaction and the sequencing reaction can proceed in each sample well. In some embodiments, the multiple sample wells are contacted with all appropriate dNTPs simultaneously. In other embodiments, the multiple sample wells are contacted with each appropriate dNTP separately and each washed in between contact with different dNTPs. Incorporated dNTPs can be detected in each sample well and a sequence determined for the single-stranded target nucleic acid in each sample well as is described above.

Embodiments directed towards single molecule nucleic acid sequencing may use any polymerase that is capable of synthesizing a nucleic acid complementary to a target nucleic acid molecule. Examples of polymerases include, but are not limited to, a DNA polymerase, an RNA polymerase, a thermostable polymerase, a wild-type polymerase, a modified polymerase, E. coli DNA polymerase I, T7 DNA polymerase, bacteriophage T4 DNA polymerase φ29 (psi29) DNA polymerase, Taq polymerase, Tth polymerase, Tli polymerase, Pfu polymerase, Pwo polymerase, VENT polymerase, DEEPVENT polymerase, EX-Taq polymerase, LA-Taq polymerase, Sso polymerase, Poc polymerase, Pab polymerase, Mth polymerase, ES4 polymerase, Tru polymerase, Tac polymerase, Tne polymerase, Tma polymerase, Tca polymerase, Tih polymerase, Tfi polymerase, Platinum Taq polymerases, Tbr polymerase, Tfl polymerase, Tth polymerase, Pfutubo polymerase, Pyrobest polymerase, Pwo polymerase, KOD polymerase, Bst polymerase, Sac polymerase, Klenow fragment, polymerase with 3′ to 5′ exonuclease activity, and variants, modified products and derivatives thereof. In some embodiments, the polymerase is a single subunit polymerase. In some embodiments, the polymerase is a polymerase with high processivity. Polymerase processivity generally refers to the capability of a polymerase to consecutively incorporate dNTPs into a nucleic acid template without releasing the nucleic acid template. Upon base pairing between a nucleobase of a target nucleic acid and the complementary dNTP, the polymerase incorporates the dNTP into the newly synthesized nucleic acid strand by forming a phosphodiester bond between the 3′ hydroxyl end of the newly synthesized strand and the alpha phosphate of the dNTP. In examples in which the luminescent tag conjugated to the dNTP is a fluorophore, its presence is signaled by excitation and a pulse of emission is detected during or after the step of incorporation. For detection labels that are conjugated to the terminal (gamma) phosphate of the dNTP, incorporation of the dNTP into the newly synthesized strand results in release the beta and gamma phosphates and the detection label, which is free to diffuse in the sample well, resulting in a decrease in emission detected from the fluorophore.

Embodiments directed toward single molecule RNA sequencing may use any reverse transcriptase that is capable of synthesizing complementary DNA (cDNA) from an RNA template. In such embodiments, a reverse transcriptase can function in a manner similar to polymerase in that cDNA can be synthesized from an RNA template via the incorporation of dNTPs to a reverse transcription primer annealed to an RNA template. The cDNA can then participate in a sequencing reaction and its sequence determined as described above. The determined sequence of the cDNA can then be used, via sequence complementarity, to determine the sequence of the original RNA template. Examples of reverse transcriptases include Moloney Murine Leukemia Virus reverse transcriptase (M-MLV), avian myeloblastosis virus (AMV) reverse transcriptase, human immunodeficiency virus reverse transcriptase (HIV-1) and telomerase reverse transcriptase.

Having recognized the need for simple, less complex apparatuses for performing single molecule detection and/or nucleic acid sequencing, the inventors have conceived of techniques for detecting single molecules using sets of luminescent tags to label different molecules. Such single molecules may be nucleotides or amino acids having tags. Tags may be detected while bound to single molecules, upon release from the single molecules, or while bound to and upon release from the single molecules. In some examples, tags are luminescent tags. Each luminescent tag in a selected set is associated with a respective molecule. For example, a set of four tags may be used to “label” the nucleobases present in DNA—each tag of the set being associated with a different nucleobase, e.g., a first tag being associated with adenine (A), a second tag being associated with cytosine (C), a third tag being associated with guanine (G), and a fourth tag being associated with thymine (T). Moreover, each of the luminescent tags in the set of tags has different properties that may be used to distinguish a first tag of the set from the other tags in the set. In this way, each tag is uniquely identifiable using one or more of these distinguishing characteristics. By way of example and not limitation, the characteristics of the tags that may be used to distinguish one tag from another may include the emission energy and/or wavelength of the light that is emitted by the tag in response to excitation energy and/or the wavelength of the excitation light that is absorbed by a particular tag to place the tag in an excited state.

Embodiments may use any suitable combination of tag characteristics to distinguish a first tag in a set of tags from the other tags in the same set. For example, some embodiments may use only the wavelength of the emission light from the tags to identify the tags. In such embodiments, each tag in a selected set of tags has a different peak emission wavelength from the other tags in the set and the luminescent tags are all excited by light from a single excitation source. FIG. 1-1 illustrates the emission spectra from four luminescent tags according to an embodiment where the four tags exhibit their respective intensity peak at different emission wavelengths, referred to herein as the tag's “peak emission wavelength.” A first emission spectrum 1-101 from a first luminescent tag has a peak emission wavelength at λ1, a second emission spectrum 1-102 from a second luminescent tag has a peak emission wavelength at λ2, a third emission spectrum 1-103 from a third luminescent tag has a peak emission wavelength at λ3, and a fourth emission spectrum 1-104 from a fourth luminescent tag has a peak emission wavelength at λ4. In this embodiment, the emission peaks of the four luminescent tags may have any suitable values that satisfy the relation λ1<λ2<λ3<λ4. The four emission spectra may or may not overlap. However, if the emission spectra of two or more tags overlap, it is desirable to select a luminescent tag set such that one tag emits substantially more light than any other tag at each respective peak wavelength. In this embodiment, the excitation wavelength at which each of the four tags maximally absorbs light from the excitation source is substantially the same, but that need not be the case. Using the above tag set, four different molecules may be labeled with a respective tag from the tag set, the tags may be excited using a single excitation source, and the tags can be distinguished from one another by detecting the emission wavelength of the tags using an optical system and sensors. While FIG. 1-1 illustrates four different tags, it should be appreciated that any suitable number of tags may be used.

Other embodiments may use both the wavelength of the emission light from the tags and the wavelength at which the tags absorb excitation light to identify the tags. In such embodiments, each tag in a selected set of tags has a different combination of emission wavelength and excitation wavelength from the other tags in the set. Thus, some tags within a selected tag set may have the same emission wavelength, but be excited by light of different wavelengths. Conversely, some tags within a selected tag set may have the same excitation wavelength, but emit light at different wavelengths. FIG. 1-2A illustrates the emission spectra from four luminescent tags according to an embodiment where two of the tags have a first peak emission wavelength and the other two tags have a second peak emission wavelength. A first emission spectrum 1-105 from a first luminescent tag has a peak emission wavelength at λ1, a second emission spectrum 1-106 from a second luminescent tag also has a peak emission wavelength at λ1, a third emission spectrum 1-107 from a third luminescent tag has a peak emission wavelength at λ2, and a fourth emission spectrum 1-108 from a fourth luminescent tag also has a peak emission wavelength at λ2. In this embodiment, the emission peaks of the four luminescent tags may have any suitable values that satisfy the relation λ1<λ2. FIG. 1-2B illustrates the absorption spectra from the four luminescent tags, where two of the tags have a first peak absorption wavelength and the other two tags have a second peak absorption wavelength. A first absorption spectrum 1-109 for the first luminescent tag has a peak absorption wavelength at λ3, a second absorption spectrum 1-110 for the second luminescent tag has a peak absorption wavelength at λ4, a third absorption spectrum 1-111 for the third luminescent tag has a peak absorption wavelength at λ3, and a fourth absorption spectrum 1-112 for the fourth luminescent tag has a peak absorption wavelength at λ4. Note that the tags that share an emission peak wavelength in FIG. 1-2A do not share an absorption peak wavelength in FIG. 1-2B. Using such a tag set allows distinguishing between four tags even when there are only two emission wavelengths for the four dyes. This is possible using two excitation sources that emit at different wavelengths or a single excitation source capable of emitting at multiple wavelengths. If the wavelength of the excitation light is known for each detected emission event, then it can be determined which tag was present. The excitation source(s) may alternate between a first excitation wavelength and a second excitation wavelength, which is referred to as interleaving. Alternatively, two or more pulses of the first excitation wavelength may be used followed by two or more pulses of the second excitation wavelength.

While not illustrated in the figures, other embodiments may determine the identity of a luminescent tag based on the absorption frequency alone. Such embodiments are possible if the excitation light can be tuned to specific wavelengths that match the absorption spectrum of the tags in a tag set. In such embodiments, the optical system and sensor used to direct and detect the light emitted from each tag do not need to be capable of detecting the wavelength of the emitted light. This may be advantageous in some embodiments because it reduces the complexity of the optical system and sensors because detecting the emission wavelength is not required in such embodiments.

As discussed above, the inventors have recognized and appreciated the need for being able to distinguish different optical (e.g., luminescent) tags from one another using various characteristics of the tags. The type of characteristics used to determine the identity of a tag impact the physical device used to perform this analysis. The present application discloses several embodiments of an apparatus, device, instrument and methods for performing these different techniques.

Briefly, the inventors have recognized and appreciated that a pixelated sensor device with a relatively large number of pixels (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions or more) that allows for the detection of a plurality of individual molecules or particles in parallel. Such single molecules may be nucleotides or amino acids having tags. Tags may be detected while bound to single molecules, upon release from the single molecules, or while bound to and upon release from the single molecules. In some examples, tags are luminescent tags. The molecules may be, by way of example and not limitation, proteins and/or nucleic acids (e.g., DNA, RNA). Moreover, a high-speed device that can acquire data at more than one hundred frames per second allows for the detection and analysis of dynamic processes or changes that occur over time within the sample being analyzed.

The inventors have recognized and appreciated that a low-cost, single-use disposable assay chip may be used in connection with an instrument that includes an excitation light source, optics, and a light sensor to measure an optical signal (e.g., luminescent light) emitted from biological samples. Using a low-cost assay chip reduces the cost of performing a given bioassay. A biological sample is placed onto the assay chip and, upon completion of a single bioassay, may be discarded. In some embodiments, more than one type of sample may be analyzed simultaneously, in parallel, by placing multiple samples on different portions of the assay chip at the same time. The assay chip interfaces with the more expensive, multi-use instrument, which may be used repeatedly with many different disposable assay chips. A low-cost assay chip that interfaces with a compact, portable instrument may be used anywhere in the world, without the constraint of high-cost biological laboratories requiring laboratory expertise to analyze samples. Thus, automated bioanalytics may be brought to regions of the world that previously could not perform quantitative analysis of biological samples. For example, blood tests for infants may be performed by placing a blood sample on a disposable assay chip, placing the disposable assay chip into the small, portable instrument for analysis, and processing the results by a computer that connects to the instrument for immediate review by a user. The data may also be transmitted over a data network to a remote location to be analyzed, and/or archived for subsequent clinical analyses. Alternatively, the instrument may include one or more processors for analyzing the data obtained from the sensors of the instrument.

Various embodiments are described in more detail below.

II. Overview of the Apparatus According to Some Embodiments

A schematic overview of the apparatus 2-100 is illustrated in FIG. 2-1. The system comprises both an assay chip 2-110 and an instrument 2-120 comprising an excitation source 2-121 and at least one sensor 2-122. The assay chip 2-110 interfaces with the instrument 2-120 using any suitable assay chip interface. For example, the assay chip interface of the instrument 2-120 may include a socket (not illustrated) for receiving the assay chip 2-110 and holding it in precise optical alignment with the excitation source 2-110 and the at least one sensor 2-122. The external excitation source 2-121 in the instrument 2-120 is configured to provide excitation energy to the assay chip 2-110 for the purpose of exciting a sample in the sample well 2-111 of the assay chip 2-110. In some embodiments, the assay chip 2-110 has multiple pixels, the sample well 2-111 of each pixel configured to receive a sample used in an analysis independent from the other pixels. Each pixel of the assay chip 2-110 comprises a sample well 2-211 for receiving, retaining and analyzing a sample from the specimen being analyzed. Such pixels may be referred to as “passive source pixels” since the pixels receive excitation energy from an excitation source separate from the pixel. In some embodiments, there is a pixel in the instrument 2-120 corresponding to each pixel present on the assay chip 2-110. Each pixel of the instrument 2-120 comprises at least one sensor for detecting emission energy emitted by the sample in response to the sample being illuminated with excitation energy from the excitation source 2-121. In some embodiments, each sensor may include multiple sub-sensors, each sub-sensor configured to detect a different wavelength of emission energy from the sample. While more than one sub-sensor may detect emission energy of a certain wavelength, each sub-sensor may detect a different wavelength band of emission energy.

In some embodiments, optical elements for guiding and coupling excitation energy from the excitation source 2-121 to the sample well 2-111 are located both on the assay chip 2-110 and the instrument 2-120, as represented by arrow 2-101 in FIG. 2-1. Such source-to-well elements may include mirrors, lenses, dielectric coatings and beam combiners located on the instrument 2-120 to couple excitation energy to the assay chip 2-110 and lenses, plasmonic elements and dielectric coatings on the assay chip 1-110 to direct the excitation energy received from the instrument 2-120 to the sample well 2-111. Additionally, in some embodiments, optical elements for guiding emission energy from the sample well 2-111 to the sensor 2-122 are located on the assay chip 2-110 and the instrument 2-120, as represented by arrow 2-102 in FIG. 2-1. Such well-to-sample elements may include may include lenses, plasmonic elements and dielectric coatings located on the assay chip 2-110 to direct emission energy from the assay chip 2-110 to the instrument 2-120 and lenses, minors, dielectric coatings, filters and diffractive optics on the instrument 1-120 to direct the emission energy received from the assay chip 2-110 to the sensor 2-111. In some embodiments, a single component may play a role in both in coupling excitation energy to a sample well and delivering emission energy from the sample well to the sensor.

In some embodiments, the assay chip 2-110 comprises a plurality of pixels, each pixel associated with its own individual sample well 2-111 and its own associated sensor 2-122 on the instrument 2-120. The plurality of pixels may be arranged in an array and may have any suitable number of pixels. For example, the assay chip may include approximately 1,000 pixels, 10,000 pixels, approximately 100,000 pixels, approximately 1,000,000 pixels, approximately 10,000,000 pixels, or approximately 100,000,000 pixels.

In some embodiments, the instrument 2-120 includes a sensor chip comprising a plurality of sensors 2-122 arranged as a plurality of pixels. Each pixel of the sensor chip corresponds to a pixel in the assay chip 2-110. The plurality of pixels may be arranged in an array and may have any suitable number of pixels. In some embodiments, the sensor chip has the same number of pixels as the assay chip 2-110. For example, the sensor chip may include approximately 10,000 pixels, approximately 100,000 pixels, approximately 1,000,000 pixels, approximately 10,000,000 pixels, or approximately 100,000,000 pixels.

The instrument 2-120 interfaces with the assay chip 2-110 through an assay chip interface (not shown). The assay chip interface may include components to position and/or align the assay chip 2-110 to the instrument 2-120 to improve coupling of the excitation energy from the excitation source 2-121to the assay chip 2-110. In some embodiments, excitation source 2-121 includes multiple excitation sources that are combined to deliver excitation energy to the assay chip 2-110. The multiple excitation sources may be configured to produce multiple excitation energies, corresponding to light of different wavelengths.

The instrument 2-120 includes a user interface 2-125 for controlling the operation of the instrument. The user interface 2-125 is configured to allow a user to input information into the instrument, such as commands and/or settings used to control the functioning of the instrument. In some embodiments, the user interface 2-125 may include buttons, switches, dials, and a microphone for voice commands. Additionally, the user interface 2-125 may allow a user to receive feedback on the performance of the instrument and/or assay chip, such as proper alignment and/or information obtained by readout signals from the sensors on the sensor chip. In some embodiments, the user interface 2-125 may provide feedback using a speaker to provide audible feedback, and indicator lights and/or a display screen for providing visual feedback. In some embodiments, the instrument 2-120 includes a computer interface 2-124 used to connect with a computing device 2-130. Any suitable computer interface 2-124 and computing device 2-130 may be used. For example, the computer interface 2-124 may be a USB interface or a firewire interface. The computing device 2-130 may be any general purpose computer, such as a laptop, desktop, or tablet computer, or a mobile device such as a cellular telephone. The computer interface 2-124 facilitates communication of information between the instrument 2-120 and the computing device 2-130. Input information for controlling and/or configuring the instrument 2-120 may be provided through the computing device 2-130 connected to the computer interface 2-124 of the instrument. Additionally, output information may be received by the computing device 2-130 through the computer interface 2-124. Such output information may include feedback about performance of the instrument 2-120 and information from the readout signals of the sensor 2-122. The instrument 2-120 may also include a processing device 2-123 for analyzing data received from the sensor 2-122. In some embodiments, the processing device 2-123 may be a general purpose processor (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or a custom integrated circuit, such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). In some embodiments, the processing of data from the sensor 1-122 may be performed by both the processing device 2-123 and the external computing device 2-130. In other embodiments, the computing device 2-130 may be omitted and processing of data from the sensor 2-122 may be performed solely by processing device 2-123.

When the excitation source 2-121 illuminates the assay chip 2-110 with excitation energy, samples within one or more pixels of the assay chip 2-110 may be excited. In some embodiments, a specimen is labeled with multiple markers and the multiple markers, each associated with a different sample within the specimen, are identifiable by the emission energy. The path from the sample well 2-111 to the sensor 2-122 may include one or more components that aid in identifying the multiple markers based on emission energy. Components may focus emission energy towards the sensor 2-122 and may additionally or alternatively spatially separate emission energies that have different characteristic energies, and therefore different wavelengths. In some embodiments, the assay chip 2-110 may include components that direct emission energy towards the sensor 2-122 and the instrument 2-120 may include components for spatially separating emission energy of different wavelengths. For example, optical filters or diffractive optics may be used to couple the wavelength of the emission energy to a spatial degree of freedom. The sensor or sensor region may contain multiple sub-sensors configured to detect a spatial distribution of the emission energy that depends on the radiation pattern. Luminescent tags that emit different emission energies and/or spectral ranges may form different radiation patterns. The sensor or sensor region may detect information about the spatial distribution of the emission energy that can be used to identify a marker among the multiple markers.

The emission energy from the sample in the sample well 2-110 may be detected by the sensor 2-122 and converted to at least one electrical signal. The electrical signals may be transmitted along conducting lines in the circuitry of the instrument 2-120 and processed and/or analyzed by the processing device 2-123 and/or computing device 2-130.

FIG. 2-2 is a top view of the assay chip 2-110 and the top view of the sensor chip 2-260 and illustrates the correspondence between the pixels of the two chips. The assay chip 2-110 comprises a plurality of pixels, each pixel including a sample well 2-111 formed in a conductive material 2-221. The sensor chip 2-260 also comprises a plurality of pixels, each pixel including a sensor 2-121 formed in or on a substrate 2-247. The arrows in FIG. 2-2 illustrate the correspondence between two of the pixels of the assay chip 2-110 and two of the pixels of the sensor chip 2-260. While not illustrated for the sake of clarity, each pixel of the assay chip 2-110 is associated with a pixel of the sensor chip 2-260.

An overview of some components associated with a single pixel of the assay chip 2-110 and a single pixel of the sensor chip 2-260 is illustrated in FIG. 2-3. The apparatus 2-100 comprises both the assay chip 2-110 and the instrument 2-120. In some embodiments, the assay chip 2-110 is a disposable chip designed for the analysis of a single specimen. The assay chip 2-110 includes one or more metal layers 2-221, one or more dielectric layers 2-225 and focusing elements 2-227. In some embodiments, metal layer 2-221 includes a stack of layers, some of which may include absorbing layers. The instrument 2-120 includes one or more excitation sources 2-250, at least one polychroic mirror 2-230, and the sensor chip 2-260, which may include filtering elements 2-241, spectral sorting elements 2-243, focusing elements 2-245 and at least one sensor 2-122 in or on the substrate 2-247. While FIG. 2-3 illustrates only a single pixel of the assay chip 2-110 and only a single pixel of the sensor chip 2-260, some components of the instrument 2-120, such as the excitation source 2-250, the polychroic minor 2-230 and filtering elements 2-241, may be common to a plurality of the pixels. For example, in some embodiments, a single excitation source 2-250 and polychroic minor 2-230 may direct the excitation energy to every pixel of the assay chip 2-110.

In some embodiments, the specimen may include bodily fluid, such as blood, urine or saliva. The sample well 2-211 within the metal layer 2-221 forms a sample volume for a sample from the specimen to enter. The openings at the end of the sample well 2-211 may be referred to as a nanoaperture. The nanoaperture may have a width that is smaller than the wavelength of the excitation energy 2-251 emitted by excitation source 2-250. A portion of the specimen, referred to as a sample, may enter the sample volume defined by the sample well 2-211. The sample may be any particle, molecule, protein, genetic material or any other sample present in the specimen.

Excitation source 2-250 emits the excitation energy 2-251, which is directed towards the sample well 2-211 to illuminate the sample. In some embodiments, the excitation source 2-251 may be a single light source that provides excitation energy for all the pixel of the assay chip 2-110. The polychroic mirror 2-230 reflects light from the excitation source 2-250 and directs the excitation energy 2-251 towards one or more sample wells 2-211 of the assay chip 2-110. Thus, in some embodiments, there may be only a single polychroic minor 2-230 that directs the excitation energy towards all the sample wells, rather than each pixel being associated with its own polychroic mirror. Similarly, there may be a one-to many relationship between other optical elements used to direct the excitation energy towards the sample wells 2-211.

A concentric circular grating 2-223 may be formed adjacent to the bottom nanoaperture of the sample well 2-211. The concentric circular gratings 2-223 may protrude from a bottom surface of the metal layer 2-221. The sample well 2-211 may be located at or near the center of the circular grating 2-223. Both the sub-wavelength scale of the nanoaperture of the sample well 2-211 and the concentric circular gratings 2-223 create a field enhancement effect that increases the intensity of the excitation energy in the sample well 2-211, resulting in increased coupling of the excitation energy to a sample present in the sample well 2-211. At least some of the time, the sample absorbs a photon from the excitation energy and emits a photon (referred to as “emission energy” 2-253) with an energy less than that of the excitation energy 2-251. The emission energy 2-253 may be emitted in a downward direction. The circular gratings 2-223 act as plasmonic elements which may be used to decrease the spread of the emission energy 2-253 and direct the emission energy 2-253 towards an associated sensor.

The emission energy 2-253 travels through the dielectric layer 2-225, which may be a spacer layer used to allow the emission energy 2-253 to propagate some distance. The dielectric layer 2-225 may also provide structural strength to the assay chip 2-110. The emission energy 2-253 then travels through one or more focusing elements 2-227 used to further direct the emission energy 2-253 to the sensor 2-122 in the associated pixel of the sensor chip 2-2260 within the instrument 2-120.

The polychroic minor 2-230 then transmits the emission energy 2-253 and reflects a portion of any excitation energy 2-251 reflected from the assay chip 2-110. The portion of the excitation light that is not reflected by the assay chip 2-110 is either transmitted through the assay chip or absorbed by the assay chip. To further reduce the amount of excitation energy 2-251 reflected by the assay chip 2-110 and not reflected by the polychroic minor 2-230, filtering elements 2-241 may be disposed in the optical path towards the sensor chip 2-260. The filtering elements 2-241 may include, by way of example and not limitation, a broadband filter, a notch filter or an edge filter, which transmit emission energy 2-253 but absorb and/or reflect excitation energy 2-251.

In embodiments, to facilitate using spectral properties of the emission energy 2-253 to determine the identity of the marker in the sample well 2-211, spectral sorting elements 2-243 may be included on the sensor chip 2-260 to couple the spectral degree of freedom of the emission energy 2-253 to the direction the emission energy 2-253 is traveling. For example, a diffractive optical element may be used to direct emission energy 2-253 of a first wavelength in a first direction and emission energy 2-253 of a second wavelength in a second direction. One or more focusing elements 2-245 may be used to direct the spectrally sorted light onto the sensor 2-122. The sensor 2-122 may include one or more sub-sensors (not shown), each of which is associated with a different wavelength of the emission energy 2-253 based on the redirection of light of different wavelengths by the spectral sorting element 2-243.

The above description of FIG. 2-3 is an overview of some, but not necessarily all, of the components of the apparatus according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, one or more elements of FIG. 2-3 may be absent or in a different location. The components of the assay chip 2-210 and instrument 2-220 are described in more detail below.

The assay chip 2-110 and the instrument 2-120 may be mechanically aligned, detachably coupled and separable from one another. The instrument 2-120 may include an instrument housing, inside which a mounting board 2-405 is disposed. FIG. 2-4 illustrates at least some of the components that may be included on the mounting board 2-405 of the instrument 2-120. The mounting board 2-405, which may include a printed circuit board, may have the sensor chip 2-260 (not visible in FIG. 2-4), a heat sink 2-407 and an optical housing 2-401 mounted to it. The various optical components of the instrument 2-120 may be disposed within the optical housing 2-401. In some embodiments, instrument housing and mounting board may be any suitable size. For example, the mounting board may be substantially circular with a diameter of 7-8″.

The assay chip 2-110 couples to the optical housing 2-401 to ensure alignment with the optical components within the optical housing 2-401. A chip holder frame 3-102 may be aligned with an opening of the optical housing 2-401. Preferably, the assay chip 2-110 may be detachably coupled to the instrument 2-120. For example, magnetic components 2-403 a through 2-403 b of any suitable shape, such as magnetic cylinders, may be placed around an opening of the optical housing 3-401 through which excitation energy exits the optical housing 2-401. Additionally, the magnetic components 2-403 a through 2-403 c may be calibrated such that the chip holder frame 3-102 is held in alignment with the opening. The chip holder frame may be positioned with a micron-level accuracy using the alignment cylinders. In some embodiments, three magnetic cylinders 2-403 a through 2-403 b are used to create chip holder frame alignment. However, embodiments are not so limited and any suitable number of magnetic, spring-loaded, pneumatic or other such components may be used to hold the chip in place in an aligned configuration. For example, the chip holder frame 3-102 may be held in place with a non-magnetic element, such as a spring, air pressure, or suction from a vacuum. Optionally, the chip holder frame 3-102 may be constructed using any stiff material suitable for positioning the chip in alignment with the optical block.

According to some aspects of the present application, when the chip is connected to the system, the distance between the sample wells and the sensors can be kept small. In some embodiments, the optical distance between the sample wells and the sensors may be less than 30 cm, less than 10 cm, less than 5 cm, or less than 1 cm.

III. Assay Chip

In some embodiments, the assay chip 2-110 does not include any active electronic components. Both the excitation source 2-250 and the sensor 2-122 for each pixel are located off-chip in the instrument 2-120.

In some embodiments, the assay chip 2-110 may be housed in a chip holder frame 3-102 as illustrated in FIG. 3-1A. The chip holder frame 3-102 may be disposable and may be disposed of along with the assay chip 2-110 after a single use. The assay chip 2-110 may be situated on the underside of the chip holder frame 3-102, as illustrated in FIG. 3-1B. The chip holder frame 3-102 may comprise any suitable ferromagnetic metal, such as steel, such that the magnetic components 2-403 a through 2-403 b fixed to the optical housing 2-401 hold the chip holder frame 3-102, and thus the assay chip 2-110, in place. In some embodiments, the chip holder frame 3-102 may be attached to the top surface of the optical housing 2-401 as illustrated in FIG. 2-4.

In other embodiments, illustrated in FIG. 3-1C, the assay chip may be attached to a top surface of the chip holder frame 3-102. A plastic cap 3-103 surrounds the assay chip 2-110 such that the pixel array of the assay chip 2-110 is exposed via an opening in the plastic cap 3-103. A user of the assay chip 2-110 may place a specimen into the opening of the plastic cap 3-103. By being in contact with the top surface of the assay chip 2-110, the samples within the specimen may be introduced to one or more of the plurality of pixels of the assay chip 2-110 for analysis. In some embodiments, no fluidic channels or device for delivering portions of the sample to the pixels via forced fluid flow are necessary.

A. Sample Well Layer

As illustrated in FIG. 2-3, and in more detail at FIG. 3-2, some embodiments include a sample well 2-211 formed at one or more pixels of the assay chip 2-110. A sample well may comprise a small volume or region formed within metal layer 2-221 and arranged such that samples may diffuse into and out of the sample well from a specimen deposited on the surface of the assay chip 2-110. In various embodiments, a sample well 2-211 may be arranged to receive excitation energy from an excitation source 2-250. Samples that diffuse into the sample well may be retained, temporarily or permanently, within an excitation region 3-215 of the sample well by an adherent 3-211. In the excitation region, a sample may be excited by excitation energy (e.g., excitation light 3-245), and subsequently emit energy that may be observed and evaluated to characterize the sample.

In further detail of operation, at least one sample 3-101 to be analyzed may be introduced into a sample well 2-211, e.g., from a specimen (not shown) containing a fluid suspension of samples. Excitation energy 3-245 from an excitation source 2-250 in the instrument 2-120 may excite the sample or at least one tag (also referred to as a biological marker, reporter, or probe) attached to the sample or otherwise associated with the sample while it is within an excitation region 3-215 within the sample well. According to some embodiments, a tag may be a luminescent molecule (e.g., a luminescent tag or probe) or quantum dot. In some implementations, there may be more than one tag that is used to analyze a sample (e.g., distinct tags that are used for single-molecule genetic sequencing as described in “Real-Time DNA Sequencing from Single Polymerase Molecules,” by J. Eid, et al., Science 323, p. 133 (2009), which is incorporated by reference). During and/or after excitation, the sample or tag may emit emission energy. When multiple tags are used, they may emit at different characteristic energies (and therefore have different wavelengths) and/or emit with different temporal characteristics. The emissions from the sample well 2-211 may radiate to a sensor 2-122 on the instrument 2-120 where they are detected and converted into electrical signals that can be used to characterize the sample.

According to some embodiments, a sample well 2-211 may be a partially enclosed structure, as depicted in FIG. 3-2. In some implementations, a sample well 2-211 comprises a sub-micron-sized hole or opening (characterized by at least one transverse dimension D_(sw)) formed in at least one layer of material 2-221. The transverse dimension of the sample well may be between approximately 20 nanometers and approximately 1 micron, according to some embodiments, though larger and smaller sizes may be used in some implementations. A volume of the sample well 2-211 may be between about 10⁻²¹ liters and about 10⁻¹⁵ liters, in some implementations. A sample well may be formed as a waveguide that may, or may not, support a propagating mode. In some embodiments, a sample well may be formed as a zero-mode waveguide (ZMW) having a cylindrical shape (or similar shape) with a diameter (or largest transverse dimension) D_(sw). A ZMW may be formed in a single metal layer as a nano-scale hole that does not support a propagating optical mode through the hole.

Because the sample well 2-211 has a small volume, detection of single-sample events (e.g., single-molecule events) at each pixel may be possible even though samples may be concentrated in an examined specimen at concentrations that are similar to those found in natural environments. For example, micromolar concentrations of the sample may be present in a specimen that is placed in contact with the assay chip, but at the pixel level only about. Sample wells of the assay 2-110 are sized such that, statistically, they most likely contain no sample or one sample, so that single molecule analysis may be performed. For example, in some embodiments 30-40% of the sample wells contain a single sample. However, sample wells may contain more than one sample. Because single-molecule or single-sample events may be analyzed at each pixel, the assay chip makes it possible to detect rare events that may otherwise go unnoticed in ensemble averaged measurements.

A transverse dimension D_(sw) of a sample well may be between about 500 nanometers (nm) and about one micron in some embodiments, between about 250 nm and about 500 nm in some embodiments, between about 100 nm and about 250 nm in some embodiments, and yet between about 20 nm and about 100 nm in some embodiments. According to some implementations, a transverse dimension of a sample well is between approximately 80 nm and approximately 180 nm, or between approximately one-quarter and one-eighth of the excitation wavelength or emission wavelength. According to other implementations, a transverse dimension of a sample well is between approximately 120 nm and approximately 170 nm. In some embodiments, the depth or height of the sample well 2-211 may be between about 50 nm and about 500 nm. In some implementations, the depth or height of the sample well 2-211 may be between about 80 nm and about 200 nm.

A sample well 2-211 having a sub-wavelength, transverse dimension can improve operation of a pixel 2-100 of an assay chip 2-110 in at least two ways. For example, excitation energy 3-245 incident on the sample well from a side opposite the specimen may couple into the excitation region 3-215 with exponentially decreasing power, and not propagate through the sample well to the specimen. As a result, excitation energy is increased in the excitation region where it excites a sample of interest, and is reduced in the specimen where it could excite other samples that would contribute to background noise. Also, emission from a sample retained at a base of the well is preferably directed toward the sensor on the instrument 2-120, since emission cannot propagate up through the sample well. Both of these effects can improve signal-to-noise ratio at the pixel. The inventors have recognized several aspects of the sample well that can be improved to further boost signal-to-noise levels at the pixel. These aspects relate to well shape and structure, and placement relative to adjacent optical and plasmonic structures (described below) that aid in coupling excitation energy to the sample well and emitted energy from the sample well.

According to some embodiments, a sample well 2-211 may be formed as a sub-cutoff nano-aperture (SCN), which does not support a propagating mode. For example, the sample well 2-211 may comprise a cylindrically-shaped hole or bore in a conductive layer 2-221. The cross-section of a sample well need not be round, and may be elliptical, square, rectangular, or polygonal in some embodiments. Excitation energy 3-245 (e.g., visible or near infrared radiation) may enter the sample well through an entrance aperture 3-212 that may be defined by walls 3-214 of the sample well 2-211 at a first end of the well, as depicted in FIG. 3-2. When formed as an SCN, the excitation energy 3-245 may decay exponentially along the SCN. In some implementations, the waveguide may comprise an SCN for emitted energy from the sample, but may not be an SCN for excitation energy. For example, the aperture and waveguide formed by the sample well may be large enough to support a propagating mode for the excitation energy, since it may have a shorter wavelength than the emitted energy. The emission, at a longer wavelength, may be beyond a cut-off wavelength for a propagating mode in the waveguide. According to some embodiments, the sample well 2-211 may comprise an SCN for the excitation energy 3-245, such that the greatest intensity of excitation energy is localized to an excitation region 3-215 of the sample well at an entrance to the sample well 2-211 (e.g., localized near the interface between layer 3-235 and layer 2-221 as depicted in FIG. 3-2). Such localization of the excitation energy can increase the emission energy density from the sample, and further confine the excitation energy near the entrance aperture 3-212, thereby limiting the observed emission to a single sample (e.g., a single molecule).

An example of excitation localization near an entrance of a sample well that comprises an SCN is depicted in FIG. 3-3. A numerical simulation was carried out to determine intensity of excitation energy within and near a sample well 2-211 formed as an SCN. The results show that the intensity of the excitation energy is about 70% of the incident energy at an entrance aperture of the sample well and drops to about 20% of the incident intensity within about 100 nm in the sample well. For this simulation, the characteristic wavelength of the excitation energy was 633 nm and the diameter of the sample well 2-211 was 140 nm. The sample well 2-211 was formed in a layer of gold metal. Each horizontal division in the graph is 50 nm. As shown by the graph, more than one-half of the excitation energy received in the sample well is localized to about 50 nm within the entrance aperture 3-212 of the sample well 2-211.

To improve the intensity of excitation energy that is localized at the sample well 2-211, other sample well structures were developed and studied by the inventors. FIG. 3-4 depicts an embodiment of a sample well that includes a cavity or divot 3-216 at an excitation end of the sample well 2-211. As can be seen in the simulation results of FIG. 3-3, a region of higher excitation intensity exists just before the entrance aperture 2-212 of the sample well. Adding a divot 3-216 to the sample well 2-211 allows a sample to move into a region of higher excitation intensity, according to some embodiments. In some implementations, the shape and structure of the divot alters the local excitation field (e.g., because of a difference in refractive index between the layer 3-235 and fluid of the specimen in the sample well), and can further increase the intensity of the excitation energy in the divot.

The divot may have any suitable shape. The divot may have a transverse shape that is substantially equivalent to a transverse shape of the sample well, e.g., round, elliptical, square, rectangular, polygonal, etc. In some embodiments, the sidewalls of the divot may be substantially straight and vertical, like the walls of the sample well. In some implementations, the sidewalls of the divot may be sloped and/or curved, as depicted in the drawing. The transverse dimension of the divot may be approximately the same size as the transverse dimension of the sample well in some embodiments, may be smaller than the transverse dimension of the sample well in some embodiments, or may be larger than the transverse dimension of the sample well in some embodiments. The divot 3-216 may extend between approximately 10 nm and approximately 200 nm beyond the metallic layer 2-221 of the sample well. In some implementations, the divot may extend between approximately 50 nm and approximately 150 nm beyond the metallic layer 2-221 of the sample well. By forming the divot, the excitation region 3-215 may extend outside the metallic layer 2-221 of the sample well, as depicted in FIG. 3-4.

FIG. 3-5 depicts improvement of excitation energy at the excitation region for a sample well containing a divot (shown in the left simulation image). For comparison, the excitation field is also simulated for a sample well without a divot, shown on the right. The field magnitude has been converted from a color rendering in these plots, and the dark region at the base of the divot represents higher intensity than the light region within the sample well. The dark regions above the sample well represents the lowest intensity. As can be seen, the divot allows a sample 3-101 to move to a region of higher excitation intensity, and the divot also increases the localization of region of highest intensity at an excitation end of the sample well. Note that the region of high intensity is more distributed for the sample well without the divot. In some embodiments, the divot 3-216 provides an increase in excitation energy at the excitation region by a factor of two or more. In some implementations, an increase of more than a factor of two can be obtained depending on the shape and depth of the divot. In these simulations, the sample well comprises a layer of Al that is 100 nm thick, with a divot that is 50 nm deep, with excitation energy at 635 nm wavelength.

FIG. 3-6 depicts another embodiment of a sample well 2-211 in which the sample well, including the divot, are formed over a protrusion 3-615 at a surface of a substrate. A resulting structure for the sample well may increase the excitation energy at the sample by more than a factor of two compared to a sample well shown in FIG. 3-2, and may direct emission from the sample well toward the sensor in the instrument 2-120. According to some embodiments, a protrusion 3-615 is patterned in a first layer 3-610 of material. The protrusion may be formed as a circular pedestal or a ridge with rectangular cross-section in some implementations, and a second layer 3-620 of material may be deposited over the first layer and the protrusion. At the protrusion, the second layer may form a shape above the protrusion that approximates a cylindrical portion 3-625, as depicted. In some embodiments, a conductive layer 3-230 (e.g., a reflective metal) may be deposited over the second layer 3-620 and patterned to form a sample well 3-210 in the conductive layer above the protrusion. A divot 3-216 may then be etched into the second layer. The divot may extend between about 50 nm and about 150 nm below the conductive layer 3-230. According to some embodiments, the first layer 3-610 and second layer 3-620 may be optically transparent, and may or may not be formed of a same material. In some implementations, the first layer 3-610 may be formed from an oxide (e.g., SiO2) or a nitride (e.g., Si3N4), and the second layer 3-620 may be formed from an oxide or a nitride.

According to some embodiments, the conductive layer 3-230 above the protrusion 3-625 is shaped approximately as a spherical reflector 3-630. The shape of the spherical portion may be controlled by selection of the protrusion height h, diameter or transverse dimension w of the protrusion, and a thickness t of the second layer 3-620. The location of the excitation region and position of the sample can be adjusted with respect to an optical focal point of the cylindrical reflector by selection of the divot depth d. It may be appreciated that the spherical reflector 3-630 can concentrate excitation energy at the excitation region 3-215, and can also collect energy emitted from a sample and reflect and concentrate the radiation toward the sensor 3-260.

As noted above, a sample well may be formed in any suitable shape, and is not limited to only cylindrical shapes. In some implementations, a sample well may be conic, tetrahedron, pentahedron, etc. FIG. 3-7A through FIG. 3-7F illustrates some example sample well shapes and structures that may be used in some embodiments. A sample well 2-211 may be formed to have an first aperture 2-212 that is larger than a second aperture 2-218 for the excitation energy, according to some embodiments. The sidewalls of the sample well may be tapered or curved. Forming a sample well in this manner can admit more excitation energy to the excitation region, yet still appreciably attenuate excitation energy that travels toward the specimen. Additionally, emission radiated by a sample may preferentially radiate toward the end of the sample well with the larger aperture, because of favorable energy transfer in that direction.

In some embodiments, a divot 3-216 may have a smaller transverse dimension than the base of the sample well, as depicted in FIG. 3-7B. A smaller divot may be formed by coating sidewalls of the sample well with a sacrificial layer before etching the divot, and subsequently removing the sacrificial layer. A smaller divot may be formed to retain a sample in a region that is more equidistant from the conductive walls of the sample well. Retaining a sample equidistant from the walls of the sample well may reduce undesirable effects of the sample well walls on the radiating sample, e.g., quenching of emission and/or altering of radiation lifetimes.

FIG. 3-7C and 3-7D depict another embodiment of a sample well. According to this embodiment, a sample well 2-211 may comprise excitation-energy-enhancing structures 3-711 and an adherent 3-211 formed adjacent the excitation-energy-enhancing structures. The energy-enhancing structures 3-711 may comprise surface plasmon or nano-antenna structures formed in conductive materials on an optically transparent layer 3-235, according to some embodiments. FIG. 3-7C depicts an elevation view of the sample well 2-211 and nearby structure, and FIG. 3-7D depicts a plan view. The excitation-energy-enhancing structures 3-711 may be shaped and arranged to enhance excitation energy in a small localized region. For example, the structures may include pointed conductors having acute angles at the sample well that increase the intensity of the excitation energy within an excitation region 3-215. In the depicted example, the excitation-energy-enhancing structures 3-711 are in the form of a bow-tie. Samples 3-101 diffusing into the region may be retained, temporarily or permanently, by the adherent 3-211 and excited by excitation energy that may be delivered from an excitation source 2-250 located in the instrument 2-120. According to some embodiments, the excitation energy may drive surface-plasmon currents in the energy-enhancing structures 3-711. The resulting surface-plasmon currents may produce high electric fields at the sharp points of the structures 3-711, and these high fields may excite a sample retained in the excitation region 3-215. In some embodiments, a sample well 2-211 depicted in FIG. 3-7C may include a divot 3-216.

Another embodiment of a sample well is depicted in FIG. 3-7E, and shows an excitation-energy-enhancing structure 3-720 formed along interior walls of the sample well 2-211. The excitation-energy-enhancing structure 3-720 may comprise a metal or conductor, and may be formed using an angled (or shadow), directional deposition where the substrate on which the sample well is formed is rotated during the deposition. During the deposition, the base of the sample well 2-211 is obscured by the upper walls of the well, so that the deposited material does not accumulate at the base. The resulting structure 3-720 may form an acute angle 3-722 at the bottom of the structure, and this acute angle of the conductor can enhance excitation energy within the sample well.

In an embodiment as depicted in FIG. 3-7E, the material 3-232 in which the sample well is formed need not be a conductor, and may be any suitable material such as a dielectric material. According to some implementations, the sample well 2-211 and excitation-energy-enhancing structure 3-720 may be formed at a blind hole etched into a dielectric layer 3-235, and a separate layer 3-232 need not be deposited.

In some implementations, a shadow evaporation may be subsequently performed on the structure shown in FIG. 3-7E to deposit a metallic or conductive energy-enhancing structure, e.g., a trapezoidal structure or pointed cone at the base of the sample well, as depicted by the dashed line. The energy-enhancing structure may enhance the excitation energy within the well via surface plasmons. After the shadow evaporation, a planarizing process (e.g., a chemical-mechanical polishing step or a plasma etching process) may be performed to remove or etch back the deposited material at the top of the sample well, while leaving the energy-enhancing structure within the well.

In some embodiments, a sample well 2-211 may be formed from more than a single metal layer. FIG. 3-7F illustrates a sample well formed in a multi-layer structure, where different materials may be used for the different layers. According to some embodiments, a sample well 2-211 may be formed in a first layer 3-232 (which may be a semiconducting or conducting material), a second layer 3-234 (which may be an insulator or dielectric), and a third layer 2-221 (which may be a conductor or semiconductor). In some embodiments, a degeneratively-doped semiconductor or graphene may be used for a layer of the sample well. In some implementations, a sample well may be formed in two layers, and in other implementations a sample well may be formed in four or more layers. In some embodiments, multi-layer materials used for forming a sample well may be selected to increase surface-plasmon generation at a base of the sample well or suppress surface-plasmon radiation at a top of the well. In some embodiments, multi-layer materials used for forming a sample well may be selected to suppress excitation energy from propagating beyond the sample well and multi-layer structure into the bulk specimen.

In some embodiments, multi-layer materials used for forming a sample well may be selected to increase or suppress interfacial excitons which may be generated by excitation energy incident on the sample well. For example, multi-excitons, such as biexcitons and triexitons, may be generated at an interface between two different semiconductor layers adjacent a sample well. The sample well may be formed in both the metal layer and the first semiconductor layer such that the interface between the first semiconductor layer and a second semiconductor layer is at an excitation region 3-215 of the sample well. Interfacial excitons may have longer lifetimes than excitons within the volume of a single semiconductor layer, increasing the likelihood that the excitons will excite a sample or tag via FRET or DET. In some embodiments, at least one quantum dot at which multi-excitons may be excited may be attached to a bottom of the sample well (e.g., by a linking molecule). Excitons excited at a quantum dot may also have longer lifetimes than excitons within the volume of a single semiconductor layer. Interfacial excitons or excitons generated at a quantum dot may increase the rate of FRET or DET, according to some embodiments.

Various materials may be used to form sample wells described in the foregoing embodiments. According to some embodiments, a sample well 2-211 may be formed from at least one layer of material 2-221, which may comprise any one of or a combination of a conductive material, a semiconductor, and an insulator. In some embodiments, the sample well 2-211 comprises a highly conductive metallic layer, e.g., gold, silver, aluminum, copper. In some embodiments, the layer 2-221 may comprise a multi-layer stack that includes any one of or a combination of gold, silver, aluminum, copper, titanium, titanium nitride, and chromium. In some implementations, other metals may be used additionally or alternatively. According to some embodiments, a sample well may comprise an alloy such as AlCu or AlSi.

In some embodiments, the multiple layers of different metals or alloys may be used to form a sample well. In some implementations, the material in which the sample well 2-211 is formed may comprise alternating layers of metals and non-metals, e.g., alternating layers of metal and one or more dielectrics. In some embodiments, the non-metal may include a polymer, such as polyvinyl phosphonic acid or a polyethylene glycol (PEG)-thiol.

A layer 2-221 in which a sample well is formed may be deposited on or adjacent to at least one optically transparent layer 3-235, according to some embodiments, so that excitation energy (e.g., in the form of visible or near-infrared radiation) and emission energy (e.g., in the form of visible or near-infrared radiation) may travel to and from the sample well 2-211 without significant attenuation. For example, excitation energy from an excitation source 2-250 may pass through the at least one optically transparent layer 2-235 to the excitation region 3-215, and emission from the sample may pass through the same layer or layers to the sensor 2-250.

In some embodiments, at least one surface of the sample well 2-211 may be coated with one or more layers 3-211, 3-280 of material that affect the action of a sample within the sample well, as depicted in FIG. 3-8. For example, a thin dielectric layer 3-280 (e.g., alumina, titanium nitride, or silica) may be deposited as a passivating coating on sidewalls of the sample well. Such a coating may be implemented to reduce sample adhesion of a sample outside the excitation region 3-215, or to reduce interaction between a sample and the material 2-221 in which the sample well 2-211 is formed. The thickness of a passivating coating within the sample well may be between about 5 nm and about 50 nm, according to some embodiments.

In some implementations, a material for a coating layer 3-280 may be selected based upon an affinity of a chemical agent for the material, so that the layer 3-280 may be treated with a chemical or biological substance to further inhibit adhesion of a sample species to the layer. For example, a coating layer 3-280 may comprise alumina, which may be passivated with a polyphosphonate passivation layer, according to some embodiments. Additional or alternative coatings and passivating agents may be used in some embodiments.

According to some embodiments, at least a bottom surface of the sample well 2-211 and/or divot 3-216 may be treated with a chemical or biological adherent 3-211 (e.g., biotin) to promote retention of a sample. The sample may be retained permanently or temporarily, e.g., for at least a period of time between about 0.5 milliseconds and about 50 milliseconds. In another embodiment, the adherent may promote temporary retention of a sample 3-101 for longer periods. Any suitable adherent may be used in various embodiments, and is not limited to biotin.

According to some embodiments, the layer of material 3-235 adjacent the sample well may be selected based upon an affinity of an adherent for the material of that layer. In some embodiments, passivation of the sample well's side walls may inhibit coating of an adherent on the sidewalls, so that the adherent 3-211 preferentially deposits at the base of the sample well. In some embodiments, an adherent coating may extend up a portion of the sample well's sidewalls. In some implementations, an adherent may be deposited by an anisotropic physical deposition process (e.g., evaporation, sputtering), such that the adherent accumulates at the base of a sample well or divot and does not appreciably form on sidewalls of the sample well.

Various fabrication techniques may be employed to fabricate sample wells 2-211 for an assay chip. A few example processes are described below, but the invention is not limited to only these examples.

The sample well 2-211 may be formed by any suitable micro- or nano-fabrication process, which may include, but is not limited to, processing steps associated with photolithography, deep-ultraviolet photolithography, immersion photolithography, near-field optical contact photolithography, EUV lithography, x-ray lithography, nanoimprint lithography, interferometric lithography, step-and-flash lithography, direct-write electron beam lithography, ion beam lithography, ion beam milling, lift-off processing, reactive-ion etching, selective epitaxy, molecular self-assembly, organic synthesis, etc. According to some embodiments, a sample well 2-211 may be formed using photolithography and lift-off processing. Example fabrication steps associated with lift-off processing of a sample well are depicted in FIG. 3-9. Although fabrication of only a single sample well or structure at a pixel is typically depicted in the drawings, it will be understood that a large number of sample wells or structures may be fabricated on a substrate (e.g., at each pixel) in parallel.

According to some embodiments, a layer 3-235 (e.g., an oxide layer) on a substrate may be covered with an anti-reflection (ARC) layer 3-910 and photoresist 3-920, as depicted in FIG. 3-9A. The photoresist may be exposed and patterned using photolithography and development of the resist. The resist may be developed to remove exposed portions or unexposed portions (depending on the resist type), leaving a pillar 3-922 that has a diameter approximately equal to a desired diameter for the sample well, as depicted in FIG. 3-9B. The height of the pillar may be greater than a desired depth of the sample well.

The pattern of the pillar 3-922 may be transferred to the ARC layer 3-910 via anisotropic, reactive ion etching (RIE), for example as shown in FIG. 3-9C. The region may then be coated with at least one material 2-221, e.g., a conductor or metal, that is desired to form the sample well. A portion of the deposited material, or materials, forms a cap 3-232 over the pillar 3-922, as depicted in FIG. 3-9D. The resist and ARC may then be stripped from the substrate, using a selective removal process (e.g., using a chemical bath with or without agitation which dissolves at least the resist and releases or “lifts off” the cap). If the ARC remains, it may be stripped from the substrate using a selective etch, leaving the sample well 3-210 as shown in FIG. 3-9E. According to some embodiments, the sidewalls 3-214 of the sample well may be sloped due to the nature of the deposition of the at least one material 2-221.

As used herein, a “selective etch” means an etching process in which an etchant selectively etches one material that is desired to be removed or etched at a higher rate (e.g., at least twice the rate) than the etchant etches other materials which are not intended to be removed.

Because the resist and ARC are typically polymer based, they are considered soft materials which may not be suitable for forming sample wells having high aspect ratios (e.g., aspect ratios greater than about 2:1 with respect to height-to-width). For sample wells having higher aspect ratios, a hard material may be included in the lift-off process. For example, before depositing the ARC and photoresist, a layer of a hard (e.g., an inorganic material) may be deposited. In some embodiments, a layer of titanium or silicon nitride may be deposited. The layer of hard material should exhibit preferential etching over the material, or materials, 2-221 in which the sample well is formed. After the photoresist is patterned, a pattern of the pillar may be transferred into the ARC and the underlying hard material 3-930 yielding a structure as depicted in FIG. 3-9F. The photoresist and ARC may be then stripped, the material(s) 2-221 deposited, and a lift-off step performed to form the sample well.

According to some embodiments, a lift-off process may be used to form a sample well comprising energy-enhancing structures 3-711, as depicted in FIG. 3-7C and FIG. 3-7D.

An alternative process for forming a sample well is depicted in FIG. 3-10. In this process, the sample well may be directly etched into at least one material 2-211. For example, at least one material 2-211 in which a sample well is to be formed may be deposited on a substrate 3-325. The layer may be covered by an ARC layer 3-910 and a photoresist 3-920, as illustrated in FIG. 3-10A. The photoresist may be patterned to form a hole having a diameter approximately equal to a desired diameter of the sample well, as depicted in FIG. 3-10B. The pattern of the hole may be transferred to the ARC and through the layer 3-230 using an anisotropic, reactive ion etch, as shown in FIG. 3-10C for example. The resist and ARC may be stripped, yielding a sample well as depicted in FIG. 3-10D. According to some embodiments, the sidewalls of a sample well formed by etching into the layer of material 3-230 may be more vertical than sidewalls resulting from a lift-off process.

In some embodiments, the photoresist and ARC may be used to pattern a hard mask (e.g., a silicon nitride or oxide layer, not shown) over the material 2-221. The patterned hole may then be transferred to the hard mask, which is then used to transfer the pattern into the layer of material 2-221. A hard mask may allow greater etching depths into the layer of material 2-221, so as to form sample wells of higher aspect ratio.

It will be appreciated that lift-off processes and direct etching fabrication techniques described above may be used to form a sample well when multiple layers of different materials are used to form a stack of material 2-211 in which the sample well is formed. An example stack is shown in FIG. 2-11. According to some embodiments, a stack of material may be used to form a sample well to improve coupling of excitation energy to the excitation region of a sample well, or to reduce transmission or re-radiation of excitation energy into the bulk specimen. For example, an absorbing layer 3-942 may be deposited over a first layer 3-940. The first layer may comprise a metal or metal alloy, and the absorbing layer may comprise a material that inhibits surface plasmons, e.g., amorphous silicon, TaN, TiN, or Cr. In some implementations, a surface layer 3-944 may also be deposited to passivate the surface surrounding the sample well (e.g., inhibit adhesion of molecules).

Formation of a sample well including a divot 3-216 may be done in any suitable manner. In some embodiments, a divot may be formed by etching further into an adjacent layer 3-235, and/or any intervening layer or layers, adjacent the sample well. For example, after forming a sample well in a layer of material 2-221, that layer 2-221 may be used as an etch mask for patterning a divot, as depicted in FIG. 3-12. For example, the substrate may be subjected to a selective, anisotropic reactive ion etch so that a divot 3-216 may be etched into adjacent layer 3-235. For example, in an embodiment where the material 2-221 is metallic and the adjacent layer 3-235 silicon oxide, a reactive-ion plasma etch having a feed gas comprising CHF3 or CF4 may be used to preferentially remove exposed silicon oxide below the sample well and form the divot 3-216. As used herein, “silicon oxide” generally refers to SiOx and may include silicon dioxide, for example.

In some embodiments, conditions within the plasma (e.g., bias to the substrate and pressure) during an etch may be controlled to determine the etch profile of the divot 3-216. For example, at low pressure (e.g., less than about 100 mTorr) and high DC bias (e.g., greater than about 20V), the etching may be highly anisotropic and form substantially straight and vertical sidewalls of the divot, as depicted in the drawing. At higher pressures and lower bias, the etching may be more isotropic yielding tapered and/or curved sidewalls of the divot. In some implementations, a wet etch may be used to form the divot, which may be substantially isotropic and form an approximately spherical divot that may extend laterally under the material 2-221, up to or beyond the sidewalls of the sample well.

FIG. 3-13A through FIG. 3-13C depict process steps that may be used to form a divot 3-216 having a smaller transverse dimension than the sample well 2-211 (for example, a divot like that depicted in FIG. 3-7B). In some implementations, after forming a sample well, a conformal sacrificial layer 3-960 may be deposited over a region including the sample well. According to some embodiments, the sacrificial layer 3-960 may be deposited by a vapor deposition process, e.g., chemical vapor deposition (CVD), plasma-enhanced CVD, or atomic layer deposition (ALD). The sacrificial layer may then be etched back using a first anisotropic etch that is selective to the sacrificial layer 3-960, removes the layer from horizontal surfaces, leaves side wall coatings 3-962 on walls of the sample well, as depicted in FIG. 3-13B. The etch back may be selective and stop on the material 2-221 and adjacent layer 3-235 in some embodiments, or may be a non-selective, timed etch in some embodiments.

A second anisotropic etch that is selective to the adjacent layer 3-235 may be executed to etch a divot 3-216 into the adjacent layer as depicted in FIG. 3-13C. The sacrificial side wall coatings 3-962 may then optionally be removed by a selective wet or dry etch. The removal of the sidewall coatings open up the sample well to have a larger transverse dimension than the divot 3-216.

According to some embodiments, the sacrificial layer 3-960 may comprise the same material as the adjacent layer 3-235. In such embodiments, the second etch may remove at least some of the side wall coating 3-962 as the divot is etched into the adjacent layer 3-235. This etch back of the side wall coating can form tapered sidewalls of the divot in some embodiments.

In some implementations, the sacrificial layer 3-960 may be formed from, or include a layer of, a material that is used to passivate the sidewalls of the sample well (e.g., reduce adhesion of samples at the sidewalls of the sample well). At least some of the layer 3-960 may then be left on the walls of the sample well after formation of the divot.

According to some embodiments, the formation of the sidewall coatings 3-962 occurs after the formation of the divot. In such an embodiment the layer 3-960 coats the sidewalls of the divot. Such a process may be used to passivate the sidewalls of the divot and localize the sample at the center of the divot.

Process steps associated with depositing an adherent 3-211 at a base of a sample well 2-211, and a passivation layer 3-280 are depicted in FIG. 3-14. According to some embodiments, a sample well may include a first passivation layer 3-280 on walls of the sample well. The first passivation layer may be formed, for example, as described above in connection with FIG. 3-13B or FIG. 3-8. In some embodiments, a first passivation layer 3-280 may be formed by any suitable deposition process and etch back. In some embodiments, a first passivation layer may be formed by oxidizing the material 3-230 in which the sample well is formed. For example, the sample well may be formed of aluminum, which may be oxidized to create a coating of alumina on sidewalls of the sample well.

An adherent 3-980 or an adherent precursor (e.g., a material which preferentially binds an adherent) may be deposited on the substrate using an anisotropic physical deposition process, e.g., an evaporative deposition, as depicted in FIG. 3-14A. The adherent or adherent precursor may form an adherent layer 3-211 at the base of the sample well, as depicted in FIG. 3-14B, and may coat an upper surface of the material 2-221 in which the sample well is formed. A subsequent angled, directional deposition depicted in FIG. 3-14C (sometimes referred to as a shadow deposition or shadow evaporation process) may be used to deposit a second passivation layer 2-280 over an upper surface of the material 2-221 without covering the adherent layer 3-211. During the shadow deposition process, the substrate may be rotated around an axis normal to the substrate, so that the second passivation layer 3-280 deposits more uniformly around an upper rim of the sample well. A resulting structure is depicted in FIG. 3-14D, according to some embodiments. As an alternative to depositing the second passivation layer, a planarizing etch (e.g., a CMP step) may be used to remove adherent from an upper surface of the material 3-230.

According to some implementations, an adherent layer 3-211 may be deposited centrally at the base of a tapered sample well, as depicted in FIG. 3-15. For example, an adherent, or adherent precursor, may be directionally deposited, as depicted in FIG. 3-14A, in a tapered sample well, formed as described above. Walls of the sample well may be passivated by an oxidation process before or after deposition of the adherent layer 3-211. Adherent or precursor remaining on a surface of the material 2-221 may be passivated as described in connection with FIG. 3-14D. In some embodiments, an adherent on an upper surface of the material 2-221 may be removed by a chemical-mechanical polishing step. By forming an adherent layer, or an adherent layer precursor, centrally at the base of a sample well, deleterious effects on emission from a sample (e.g., suppression or quenching of sample radiation from sample walls, unfavorable radiation distribution from a sample because it is not located centrally with respect to energy coupling structures formed around a sample well, adverse effects on luminescent lifetime for a sample) may be reduced.

In some embodiments, lift-off patterning, etching, and deposition processes used to form the sample well and divot may be compatible with CMOS processes that are used to form integrated CMOS circuits on a sensor chip. Accordingly, sensor may be fabricated using conventional CMOS facilities and fabrication techniques, though custom or specialized fabrication facilities may be used in some implementations.

Variations of the process steps described above may be used to form alternative embodiments of sample wells. For example, a tapered sample well such as depicted in FIG. 3-7A or FIG. 3-7B may be formed using an angled deposition process depicted in FIG. 3-14C. For the sample well of FIG. 3-7B, the angle of deposition may be changed during the deposition process. For such embodiments, a sample well having substantially straight and vertical sidewalls may first be formed, and then additional material 2-221 deposited by an angled deposition to taper the sidewalls of the sample well.

B. Coupling Excitation Energy to the Sample Well

As illustrated in FIG. 2-1 and FIG. 2-3, excitation energy 2-251 from the excitation source 2-250 is guided to the sample well 2-211 using components of the instrument 2-120 and components of the assay chip 2-110. This section describes the components of the assay chip 2-110 that may aid in the coupling of excitation energy 2-251 to the sample well 2-211.

Coupling of energy from an excitation source to a sample well may be improved or affected by forming excitation-coupling structures within and/or adjacent a sample well. Excitation-coupling structures may comprise micro- or nano-scale structures fabricated around a sample well in some embodiments, or may comprise structures or particles formed at a sample well in some embodiments. Excitation-coupling structures may affect radiative excitation of a sample in some implementations, and may affect non-radiative excitation of a sample in some implementations. In various embodiments, radiative excitation-coupling structures may increase an intensity of excitation energy within an excitation region of a sample well. Non-radiative excitation-coupling structures may improve and/or alter non-radiative energy-transfer pathways from an excitation source (which may be radiative or non-radiative) to a sample.

C. Radiative Excitation-Coupling Structures

There are a number of different types of radiative, excitation-coupling structures that may be used to affect coupling of excitation energy from an excitation source to an excitation region within a sample well. Some radiative coupling structures may be formed of a conductor (e.g., include a metal layer), and support surface plasmon oscillations that locally affect the excitation energy (e.g., locally alter an electromagnetic field) near and/or within the sample well. In some cases, surface-plasmon structures may enhance the excitation energy within an excitation region of the sample well by a factor of two or more. Some radiative coupling structures may alter the phase and/or amplitude of an excitation field to enhance excitation energy within a sample well. Various embodiments of radiative excitation-coupling structures are described in this section.

FIG. 4-1A depicts just one example of a surface-plasmon structure 4-120 that may be used to enhance coupling of excitation energy into a sample well. The drawing depicts a plan view of a region around a surface-plasmon structure 4-120, and represents results of a numerical simulation of electric field intensity around the structure. The drawing depicts a surface-plasmon structure comprising three triangular features having sharp apexes that are located in close proximity to a sample well (not shown). According to some embodiments, a surface-plasmon structure may comprise a metal or conductor (e.g., a patterned thin film of any one or combination of the following metals or metal alloys: Al, Au, Ag, Ti, TiN). A thickness of the film may be between approximately 10 nm and approximately 100 nm in some embodiments, though other thicknesses may be used in other embodiments. A surface-plasmon structure, in some embodiments, may include sharp features 4-110 located in close proximity to a sample well (e.g., within about 100 nm).

FIG. 4-1B depicts a cross-section, elevation view of the surface-plasmon structure of FIG. 4-1A, taken at the dashed line. The simulation shows a localized, high-intensity region 4-505 of the excitation energy adjacent an apex of a triangle of the surface-plasmon structure. For this simulation, the surface-plasmon structure 4-120 was located on a dielectric layer 4-135 (silicon dioxide). The surface-plasmon structure taps energy from an evanescent field of the waveguide, and enhances the intensity at the sample well.

In some embodiments, enhancement of excitation energy by a surface-plasmon structure may be localized to an extent that a deep sample well 2-211 is not needed. For example, if a high-intensity region 4-505 is formed having a diameter of approximately 100 nm with a peak intensity value greater than about 80% of the intensity outside the region, then a deep sample well may not be needed. Only samples within the high-intensity region 4-505 would contribute appreciable emission for purposes of detection.

When an incident electromagnetic field interacts with a surface-plasmon structure, surface-wave currents are generated in the structure. The shape of the structure can affect the intensity and distribution of these surface-plasmons. These localized currents can interact with and significantly alter and intensify the incident electromagnetic field in the immediate vicinity of the surface-plasmon structure, e.g., as depicted by the high-intensity region 4-505 in FIG. 4-1B. In some embodiments, an emitter (e.g., a fluorescing tag) that emits energy near a surface-plasmon structure can have its emission altered by the structure, so as to alter a far-field radiation pattern from the emitter.

Another embodiment of a surface-plasmon structure 4-122 is depicted in the plan view of FIG. 4-1C. The illustrated bow-tie structure comprises two triangular metallic structures located adjacent a sample well 2-211. The structures may be patterned below a sample well, for example, and/or adjacent an excitation region of the sample well. There may be a gap 4-127 between the sample well and sharp features 4-125 of the surface-plasmon structure, in some implementations. The gap 4-127 may be between approximately 10 nm and approximately 200 nm, according to some embodiments. In some implementations, the gap 4-127 may be between approximately 10 nm and approximately 100 nm. The sharp features 4-125 may comprise a point or sharp bend in an edge of the surface-plasmon structure, as depicted in the drawing. The sharp features may have any suitable shape. In some embodiments a bend radius of a sharp feature 4-125 may be less than approximately five wavelengths associated with the incident excitation energy. In some embodiments a bend radius of a sharp feature 4-125 may be less than approximately two wavelengths associated with the incident excitation energy. In some embodiments a bend radius of a sharp feature 4-125 may be less than approximately five wavelengths associated with a surface-plasmon wave that is excited by the incident excitation energy. In some embodiments a bend radius of a sharp feature 4-125 may be less than approximately two wavelengths associated with a surface-plasmon wave that is excited by the incident excitation energy.

According to some embodiments, surface-plasmon structures 4-122 may be patterned within a sample well 2-211 as illustrated in the elevation view of FIG. 4-1D. In some embodiments, a surface-plasmon structure within a sample well may comprise one or more fingers (e.g., metallic fingers) patterned onto sidewalls of the sample well, as depicted in the drawing. FIG. 4-1E depicts a plan view of the sample well 2-211 showing the surface-plasmon structures 4-122 formed on sidewalls within the sample well. In some embodiments, the lower ends of these surface-plasmon structures 4-122 form sharp features or bends where the electromagnetic field will be enhanced. The surface-plasmon structures 4-122 may, or may not, extend to a base of the sample well.

In some embodiments, the surface-plasmon structures 4-122 may be arranged to affect the polarization of the excitation energy and/or emitted energy from the sample well. For example, a pattern as depicted in FIG. 4-1E may be used to affect a preferred orientation of linear or elliptical excitation polarization and/or a preferred orientation of linear or elliptical polarization from an emitter within the sample well.

Surface-plasmon structures may be patterned in shapes other than those depicted in FIG. 4-1A through FIG. 4-1E. For example, surface-plasmon structures may be patterned as regular or periodic structures, as depicted in FIG. 4-2A, according to some embodiments. For example, a surface-plasmon structure may be patterned is an array of protruding features 4-210 on a lower surface of a material 2-221 in which the sample well 2-211 is formed. Periodic surface-plasmon structures may be formed in a regular array, for example, a grating, a grid, a lattice, a circular grating, a spiral grating, an elliptical grating, or any other suitable structure. There may be a substantially uniform spacing s between the protrusions 4-210 of a surface-plasmon structure. In some implementations, the spacing s may have any value between approximately 40 nm and approximately 250 nm. According to some embodiments, the protrusions may have a height h between approximately 20 nm and approximately 100 nm. In some implementations, the spacing s may be non-uniform or may be chirped (having a decreasing value at larger radial distances). In some embodiments, the protrusions 5-210 of a surface-plasmon structure may be patterned as a Fresnel zone plate. According to some embodiments, a surface-plasmon structure of 4-210 may be formed adjacent to a transparent layer and/or dielectric layer 3-235. In some embodiments, the spacing between the protrusions 4-210 may be periodic, while in other embodiments the protrusions 4-210 may be aperiodic.

In some implementations, a surface-plasmon structure 4-212 may be spaced from a material 2-221 in which the sample well is formed as depicted in FIG. 4-2B. For example, there may be an intervening dielectric layer 4-247 between the surface-plasmon structure 4-212 and the material 4-230. According to some embodiments, a surface plasmons structure 4-212 may be located adjacent a divot 3-216 of a sample well, as depicted in the drawing. For example, a surface-plasmon structure 4-212 may be located adjacent sidewalls of a divot 3-216, as depicted in FIG. 4-2B.

FIG. 4-2C illustrates a surface-plasmon structure 4-214 that is formed as a concentric, circular grating. The structure 4-214 may comprise concentric conducting rings 4-215, according to some embodiments. The rings may be separated by a regular spacing s and have a height h, as described in connection with FIG. 4-2A. According to some embodiments, a sample well 4-210 with an optional divot may be located at a center of the rings. The circular grating may be patterned adjacent a base of the sample well.

A periodicity of a surface-plasmon structure may be selected to form a resonant structure according to some embodiments. For example a spacing s of a surface-plasmon structure may be selected to be approximately one-half wavelength of a surface-plasmon wave that is generated in the structure by the excitation energy. When formed as a resonant structure, a surface-plasmon structure may accumulate and resonate excitation energy along the direction of the periodic surface-plasmon structure. Such a resonant behavior can intensify electromagnetic energy within a sample well, or adjacent a sample well, as depicted in FIG. 4-2D. While the spacing of the surface plasmon structure may be periodic in some embodiments, in other embodiments the spacing may be aperiodic. Using aperiodic spacing allows the field enhancement to be specifically designed for the wavelengths of excitation energy and wavelengths of emission energy involved. FIG. 4-2D represents numerically simulated electromagnetic field results at the base of the sample well and around a periodic surface-plasmon structure. The surface-plasmon structure 4-216 is located adjacent the material 2-221 in which the sample well is formed, and is adjacent a base of a sample well 2-211. The surface-plasmon structure may be in the form of a grating or circular grating that repeats at regular or irregular spacing intervals in regions away from the sample well and outside the simulated region. For example, there may be between three and fifty repeated grating protrusions of the surface-plasmon structure 4-216. A region of high intensity 4-240 can be seen at the base of the sample well 2-211. The intensity within this region has been enhanced by more than a factor of 2 over the surrounding region just below the surface-plasmon structure.

FIG. 4-2E depicts, in elevation view, an alternative embodiment of a resonant surface-plasmon structure 4-218. According to some embodiments, a surface-plasmon structure may be formed as periodic or aperiodic grating or grid patterns, and may be patterned in multiple layers 4-247. A sample well 2-211 may be patterned through the multiple layers 4-247 and within the resonant surface-plasmon structure 4-218, according to some embodiments. In some implementations, a resonant surface-plasmon structure may comprise discrete conductive elements 4-222 is depicted in the plan view of FIG. 4-2F. In some implementations, a resonant surface-plasmon structure may comprise a continuous lattice pattern 4-250, as depicted in FIG. 4-2G. A dielectric filler 4-252 may be located in voids of the conductive material 4-250, and a sample well 2-211 may be located with a void.

There are a variety of different surface-plasmon structures that may be used to enhance coupling into a sample well or to affect emission from a sample within the sample well. FIG.4-2H depicts, in plan view, yet an alternative embodiment of the surface-plasmon structure. An elevation view of the structure is depicted in FIG. 4-21. According to some implementations, a surface-plasmon structure may comprise an array of discs distributed around a sample well 2-211. In some implementations, instead of using conductive discs 4-260, a surface-plasmon structure may comprise a conductive layer through which a distributed pattern of holes are formed. Such a structure may be referred to as a “nano-antenna.”

A variety of different processes may be used to pattern surface-plasmon structures adjacent a sample well. FIG. 4-3A through FIG. 4-5E depict structures associated with process steps that may be used to form surface-plasmon structures adjacent to a sample well, according to some embodiments. Referring now to FIG. 4-3A, a process for forming a surface-plasmon structure may comprise forming a resist layer 4-310 on an anti-reflective coating (ARC) 4-320 on a masking layer 4-330. The layers may be disposed on a transparent dielectric layer 3-235, according to some implementations. The resist layer 4-310 may comprise a photoresist or an electron- or ion-beam resist that may be lithographically patterned. The masking layer 4-330 may comprise a hard mask formed of an inorganic material (e.g., silicon or silica nitride, or any other suitable material), according to some embodiments.

In some implementations, a photolithographic process may be used to pattern the resist 4-310 as depicted in FIG. 4-3B. The selected pattern may comprise a layout of protrusions or holes that will be used to form a desired surface-plasmon structure. After development of the resist 4-310, regions of the ARC will be exposed, and the pattern may be etched into the ARC layer 4-320 and then into the masking layer 4-330. The resist and ARC may be stripped from the substrate, and a resulting structure may appear as shown in FIG. 4-3C. The masking layer 4-330 may then be used as an etch mask, so that the pattern may be transferred into the underlying dielectric layer 3-235 via a selective anisotropic etch, as depicted in FIG. 4-3D.

A conductive material 2-221, or a layer of materials comprising a conductor, may then be deposited over the region, as illustrated in FIG. 4-3E. Any suitable conductive material may be used for forming a surface plasmon structure, whether or not it is deposited as a separate layer from the material 2-221. For example, in some cases, a first conductive material may be deposited as a base layer of material 2-221 in which a surface-plasmon structure is formed. Examples of materials that may be used for forming a surface-plasmon structure include, but are not limited to, Au, Al, Ti, TiN, Ag, Cu, and alloys or combination layers thereof.

The material 2-221, or layer of materials, may be deposited by any suitable deposition process, including but not limited to a physical deposition process or a chemical vapor deposition process. In some embodiments, the material 2-221 may have a thickness between approximately 80 nm and approximately 300 nm. In some implementations, the material 2-221 may be planarized (e.g., using a CMP process), though planarization is not necessary. A sample well may be formed in the material 2-221 using any suitable process described herein in connection with fabricating a sample well.

The inventors have recognized that forming a surface-plasmon structure according to the steps shown in FIG. 4-3A through FIG. 4-3E may require accurate alignment of the sample well to the surface-plasmon structure. For example, a surface-plasmon structure comprising a concentric grating, as depicted in FIG. 4-2C, may require accurate alignment of the sample well 2-211 to the center of the surface-plasmon structure 4-214. To avoid fabrication difficulties associated with such accurate alignment, self-alignment processes depicted in FIG. 4-4A through FIG. 4-5E may be used.

Referring now to FIG. 4-4A, a process for forming a surface-plasmon structure and sample well that is self-aligned to the surface-plasmon structure may comprise forming a masking layer 4-410 on a transparent dielectric layer 2-235. The masking layer may comprise a hard mask formed of an inorganic material, such as silicon or silica nitride, according to some embodiments. A thickness of the masking layer 4-410 may be approximately equal to a desired height of a sample well 2-212. For example, the thickness of the masking layer may be between approximately 50 nm and approximately 200 nm, according to some embodiments, though other thicknesses may be used in other embodiments.

The masking layer 4-410 may be patterned to create voids 4-430 having the desired pattern of a surface-plasmon structure that will be patterned in the dielectric layer 2-235. The patterning of the masking layer 4-410 may be done with any suitable lithography process (e.g., photolithography, electron-beam lithography, ion-beam lithography, EUV lithography, x-ray lithography). The resulting structure may appear as shown in FIG. 4-4B. The structure may include a central pillar 4-420, which will be used subsequently to form the self-aligned sample well.

A resist 4-440 (e.g., a photoresist) may then be patterned over the patterned masking layer 4-410, as depicted in FIG. 4-4C. Alignment for patterning the resist 4-440 (e.g., mask to substrate alignment) need not be highly accurate, and only requires the resist 4-440 to cover a central pillar 4-420 and not cover voids 4-430 that will be used to form the surface-plasmon structure.

A selective anisotropic etch may then be used to etch the dielectric layer 2-235 and transfer the pattern of the surface-plasmon structure into the dielectric, as depicted in FIG. 4-4D according to some embodiments. A selective isotropic etch may then be used to remove the exposed portions of the masking layer 4-410. The isotropic etch may be a wet etch, for example, though an isotropic dry etch may be used in some embodiments. Because the resist 4-440 covers the central pillar 4-420, the central pillar will not be etched and remain on the substrate, as depicted in FIG. 4-4E. The resist 4-440 may then be stripped from the substrate exposing the pillar 4-420, as depicted in FIG. 4-4F.

According to some embodiments, a metal conductive material 2-221, or a stack of materials including a conductive material, may then be deposited over the region as illustrated in FIG. 4-4G. The central pillar 4-420 and a cap of deposited material over the pillar may then be removed by a selective wet etch of the pillar, lifting off the cap. The removal of the central pillar leaves a sample well that is self-aligned to the underlying surface-plasmon structure 4-450.

An alternative process may be used to form a sample well that is self-aligned to a surface-plasmon structure, and is depicted in FIG. 4-5A through FIG. 4-5E. According to some embodiments, one or more conductive layers 4-510, 4-520 may be patterned on a transparent dielectric layer 2-235 using any suitable lithography process, as depicted in FIG. 4-5A. In some implementations, a first layer 4-510 may comprise aluminum, and a second layer 4-520 may comprise titanium nitride, though other material combinations may be used in various embodiments. A total thickness of the one or more layers may be approximately equivalent to a desired height of the sample well, according to some embodiments. The patterning may form a sample well 2-211, and voids 4-525 adjacent the sample well in the one or more metal layers. The voids may be arranged in the pattern of a desired surface-plasmon structure.

In some implementations, the dielectric layer 3-235 may be etched to transfer the pattern of the surface-plasmon structure and sample well 2-211 into the dielectric layer, as depicted in FIG. 4-5B. The etch depth into the dielectric may be between approximately 20 nm and approximately 150 nm, according to some embodiments. A resist 4-440 may be patterned to cover the sample well, as depicted in FIG. 4-5C. Alignment for patterning the resist need not be highly accurate, and only need cover the sample well without covering adjacent etched regions of the dielectric layer 2-235 that will be used to form the surface-plasmon structure.

As illustrated in FIG. 4-5D, a conductive material 4-512, or layers of materials including a conductor, may be deposited over the region using any suitable deposition process. The material 4-512 may fill the etched regions of the dielectric layer, and may extend above the one or more layers 4-510, 4-520. The resist 4-440 and the material covering the resist may then be removed according to a lift-off process. The resulting structure, shown in FIG. 4-5E, leaves a sample well that is self-aligned to the surrounding surface-plasmon structure. The sample well includes a divot 3-216.

In some embodiments the process depicted in FIG. 4-5A through FIG. 4-5E may be used to form a sample well that does not have a divot 3-216. For example, the resist 4-440 may be patterned over the sample well 2-211 before the dielectric layer 2-235 is etched. The dielectric layer 2-235 may then be etched, which will transfer the pattern of the surface-plasmon structure to the dielectric layer but not form a divot. The process may then proceed as illustrated in FIG. 4-5D and FIG. 4-5E to create a self-aligned sample well having no divot.

Other structures, in addition to or as an alternative to surface-plasmon structures, may be patterned in the vicinity of the sample well 2-211 to increase the excitation energy within the sample well. For example some structures may alter the phase and/or the amplitude of the incident excitation field so as to increase the intensity of the excitation energy within the sample well. FIG. 4-6A depicts a thin lossy film 4-610 that may be used to alter the phase and amplitude of incident excitation energy and increase the intensity of electromagnetic radiation within the sample well.

According to some embodiments, a thin lossy film may create constructive interference of the excitation energy, resulting in field enhancement within an excitation region of the sample well. FIG. 4-6B depicts a numerical simulation of excitation energy incident upon a sample well where a thin lossy film 4-610 has been formed immediately adjacent the sample well. For the simulation, the sample well has a diameter of approximately 80 nm and is formed in a metallic layer of gold approximately 200 nm thick. The sample well comprises an SCN, and suppresses propagation of excitation energy through the sample well. The thin lossy film 4-610 is approximately 10 nm thick, is formed from germanium, and covers an underlying transparent dielectric comprising silicon dioxide. The thin lossy film extends across an entrance aperture of the sample well. The simulation shows that the intensity of the excitation energy is a highest value at the entrance aperture of the sample well. The intensity of the excitation energy in this bright region 4-620 is more than twice the value of the intensity to the left and right of the sample well.

A thin lossy film may be made from any suitable material. For example, a thin lossy film may be made from a material where the index of refraction n is approximately the same order of magnitude as the extinction coefficient k for the material. In some embodiments, a thin lossy film may be made from a material where the index of refraction n is within about two orders of magnitude difference from the value of the extinction coefficient k of the material. Non-limiting examples of such materials at visible wavelengths are germanium and silicon.

A thin lossy film may be any suitable thickness, which may depend upon a characteristic wavelength, or wavelengths, associated with the excitation source, or sources. In some embodiments, a thin lossy film may be between approximately 1 nm and approximately 45 nm thick. In other embodiments, a thin lossy film may be between approximately 15 nm and approximately 45 nm thick. In still other embodiments, a thin lossy film may be between approximately 1 nm and approximately 20 nm thick.

Effects of a thin lossy film on reflectance from the material 2-221 in which a sample well is formed, excitation energy loss within the thin lossy film, and excitation energy loss within the material 2-221 are shown in the graph of FIG. 4-6C. One curve plotted in the graph represents a reflectance curve 4-634, and shows how reflectance from the material 2-221 and the thin lossy film 4-610 vary as the thickness of the thin lossy film changes from 0 nm to 100 nm. The reflectance reaches a minimum value at about 25 nm, according to the simulated embodiment. The reflectance minimum will occur at different thicknesses depending on a characteristic wavelength of the excitation energy and materials used for the thin lossy film and material 2-221. In some implementations a thickness of thin lossy film is selected such that the reflectance is approximately at its minimal value.

In some embodiments, a thin lossy film 4-610 may be spaced from a sample well 2-211 and material 2-221, as depicted in FIG. 4-6D. For example, a thin dielectric layer 4-620 (e.g., a silicon oxide SiOx) may be formed over a thin lossy film, and a sample well 2-211 may be formed adjacent the dielectric layer 4-620. A thickness of the dielectric layer 4-620 may be between approximately 10 nm and approximately 150 nm according to some embodiments, though other thicknesses may be used in some embodiments.

Although depicted as a single layer, a thin lossy film may comprise multiple layers of two or more materials. In some implementations, a multilayer stack comprising alternating layers of a thin lossy film 4-610 and a dielectric layer 4-620 may be formed adjacent a sample well 2-211, as depicted in FIG. 4-6E. A thickness of a thin lossy film 4-610 in a stack of layers may be between approximately 5 nm and approximately 100 nm, and a thickness of a dielectric layer 4-620 within the stack may be between approximately 5 nm and approximately 100 nm, according to some embodiments. In some implementations, the multilayer stack may comprise a layer of silicon dioxide (4.2 nm thick), a layer of silicon (14.35 nm thick), and a layer of germanium (6.46 nm thick), though other thicknesses may be used in other embodiments. In some implementations, the multilayer stack may comprise a layer of silicon dioxide (approximately 4.2 nm thick), a layer of silicon (approximately 14.4 nm thick), and a layer of germanium (approximately 6.5 nm thick), though other thicknesses may be used in other embodiments.

A thin lossy film may be fabricated from any suitable material that exhibits at least some loss to the incident radiation. In some embodiments, a thin lossy film may comprise a semiconductor material, for example silicon and germanium, though other materials may be used. In some implementations, a thin lossy film may comprise inorganic material or a metal. In some embodiments, a thin lossy film may comprise an alloy or compound semiconductor. For example, a thin lossy film may comprise an alloy including Si (57.4% by weight), Ge (25.8% by weight), and SiO2 (16.8% by weight), though other ratios and compositions may be used in other embodiments.

According to some embodiments, a thin lossy film may be formed on the substrate using any suitable blanket deposition process, for example, a physical deposition process, a chemical vapor deposition process, a spin on process, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, a thin lossy film may be treated after deposition, e.g., baked, annealed and/or subjected to ion implantation.

Other phase/amplitude altering structures may be used additionally or alternatively to enhance excitation energy within the sample well. According to some implementations and as shown in FIG. 4-7A, a reflective stack 4-705 may be spaced from a sample well 2-211. In some embodiments, a reflective stack may comprise a dielectric stack of materials having alternating indices of refraction. For example a first dielectric layer 4-710 may have a first index of refraction, and a second dielectric layer 4-720 may have a second index of refraction different than the first index of refraction. The reflective stack 4-705 may exhibit a high reflectivity for excitation energy in some embodiments, and exhibit a low reflectivity for radiative emission from an emitter within the sample well. For example, a reflective stack 4-705 may exhibit a reflectivity greater than approximately 80% for excitation energy and a reflectivity lower than approximately 40% for emission from a sample, though other reflectivity values may be used in some embodiments. A dielectric layer 4-730 that transmits the excitation energy may be located between the reflective stack and the sample well.

According to some implementations, a reflective stack 4-705 depicted in FIG. 4-7A may form a resonator with the material 2-221 in which the sample well 2-211 is formed. For example, the reflective stack may be spaced from the material 2-221 by a distance that is approximately equal to one-half the wavelength of the excitation energy within the dielectric material 4-730, or an integral multiple thereof. By forming a resonator, excitation energy may pass through the reflective stack, resonate, and build up in the space between the material 2-221 and the reflective stack 4-705. This can increase excitation intensity within the sample well 2-211. For example, the intensity may increase within the resonant structure by more than a factor of 2 in some embodiments, and more than a factor of 5 in some embodiments, and yet more than a factor of 10 in some embodiments.

Additional structures may be added in the vicinity of the sample well, as depicted in FIG. 4-7B and FIG. 4-7C. According to some embodiments, a dielectric plug 4-740 having a first index of refraction that is higher than a second index of refraction of the dielectric layer 4-730 may be formed adjacent the sample well 2-211, as depicted in FIG. 4-7B. The plug may be in the shape of a cylinder having a diameter approximately equal to that of the sample well, though other shapes and sizes may be used. Because of its higher refractive index, the dielectric plug 4-740 may condense and guide excitation energy toward the sample well.

A dielectric structure, such as the plug 4-740, may be used with or without a reflective stack 4-705, according to some embodiments. Such a dielectric structure may be referred to as a dielectric resonant antenna. The dielectric resonant antenna may have any suitable shape, for example, cylindrical, rectangular, square, polygon old, trapezoidal, or pyramid.

FIG. 4-7C and FIG. 4-7D depict a photonic bandgap (PBG) structure that may be formed in the vicinity of a sample well 2-211, according to some embodiments. A photonic bandgap structure may comprise a regular array or lattice of optical contrast structures 4-750. The optical contrast structures may comprise dielectric material having a refractive index that is different from a refractive index of the surrounding dielectric material, according to some embodiments. In some implementations, the optical contrast structures 4-750 may have a loss value that is different from the surrounding medium. In some implementations, a sample well 2-211 may be located at a defect in the lattice as depicted in FIG. 4-7D. According to various embodiments, the defect in the photonic lattice may confine photons within the region of the defect can enhance the intensity of the excitation energy at the sample well. The confinement due to the photonic bandgap structure may be substantially in two dimensions transverse to a surface of the substrate. When combined with the reflective stack 4-705, confinement may be in three dimensions at the sample well. In some embodiments, a photonic bandgap structure may be used without a reflective stack.

Various methods have been contemplated for fabricating the excitation-coupling structures depicted in FIG. 4-6A through FIG. 4-7D. Structures that require thin planar films (e.g., dielectric films of alternating refractive index) may be formed by planar deposition processes, according to some embodiments. Planar deposition processes may comprise physical deposition (for example, electron beam evaporation or sputtering) or chemical vapor deposition processes. Structures that require discrete embedded dielectrics formed in three-dimensional shapes, such as a dielectric resonant antenna 4-740 shown in FIG. 4-7B or the optical contrast structures 4-750 shown in FIG. 4-7C, may be formed using lithographic patterning and etching processes to etch the pattern into the substrate, and using subsequent deposition of a dielectric layer, and a planarization of the substrate, for example. Also contemplated are self-alignment processing techniques for forming dielectric resonant antennas as well as photonic bandgap structures in the vicinity of the sample well 2-211.

FIG. 4-8A through FIG. 4-8G depict structures associated with process steps for just one self-alignment process that may be used to form a photonic bandgap structure and a self-aligned sample well as illustrated in FIG. 4-7C. According to some embodiments, a reflective stack 4-705 may be first formed on a substrate above a dielectric layer 3-235, as illustrated in FIG. 4-8A. A second dielectric layer 4-730 may then be deposited over the reflective stack. The thickness of the dielectric layer 4-730 may be approximately equal to about one-half a wavelength of the excitation energy in the material, or an integral multiple thereof. Process steps described in connection with FIG. 4-4A through FIG. 4-4E may then be carried out to form a pillar 4-420 above the dielectric layer 4-730 and a pattern of etched features 4-810 for the photonic bandgap structure. The etched features may extend into the dielectric layer 4-730 and optionally into the reflective stack 4-705. The resulting structure may appear as shown in FIG. 4-8A.

A resist 4-440 covering the pillar 4-420 may be stripped from the substrate and a conformal deposition performed to fill the etched features with a filling material 4-820, as depicted in FIG. 4-8B. The filling material 4-820 may be the same material that is used to form the pillar 4-420, according to some embodiments. For example the filling material 4-820 and the pillar 4-420 may be formed of silicon nitride and the dielectric layer 4-730 may comprise an oxide, e.g., SiO2.

An anisotropic etch may then be carried out to etch back the filling material 4-820. The filling material may be etched back to expose a surface of the dielectric layer 4-730, according to some embodiments, resulting in a structure as depicted in FIG. 4-8C. The etch may leave a pillar 4-830 comprising the original pillar 4-420 and sidewalls 4-822 that remain from the filling material 4-820.

A resist 4-440 may then be patterned over the substrate as depicted in FIG. 4-8D. For example, the resist may be coated onto the substrate, a hole patterned in the resist, and the resist developed to open up a region in the resist around the pillar 4-830. Alignment of the hole to the pillar need not be highly accurate, and only need expose the pillar 4-830 without exposing the underlying photonic bandgap structures embedded in the dielectric layer 4-730.

After the pillar 4-830 is exposed, and isotropic etch may be used to reduce the transverse dimension of the pillar. According to some embodiments, the resulting pillar shape may appear as depicted in FIG. 4-8E. The resist 4-440 may then be stripped from the substrate and a material 2-221, or layers of materials, may be deposited over the region. In some embodiments, the material 2-221 may be etched back using a CMP process to planarize the region as depicted in FIG. 4-8F. Subsequently, a selective dry or wet etch may be used to remove the remaining pillar structure leaving a sample well 2-211, as illustrated in FIG. 4-8G. As indicated by the drawings, the sample well 2-211 is self-aligned to the photonic bandgap structure patterned in the dielectric layer 4-730.

As an alternative process, the filling material 4-820 may comprise a different material than the material used to form the pillar 4-420. In this process, the steps associated with FIG. 4-8D and FIG. 4-8E may be omitted. After deposition of material 2-221 and planarization, as depicted in FIG. 4-8F, a selective etch may be performed to remove the pillar 4-420. This may leave sidewalls of the filling material 4-820 lining the sample well 2-211.

D. Non-Radiative Excitation-Coupling Structures

The present disclosure provides structures for non-radiative coupling of excitation energy to a sample within the sample well. Just one embodiment of a non-radiative coupling structure is depicted in FIG. 4-9A. According to some embodiments, a non-radiative coupling structure may comprise a semiconductor layer 4-910 formed immediately adjacent a sample well 2-211. The semiconductor layer 4-910 may be an organic semiconductor in some embodiments, or an inorganic semiconductor in some embodiments. In some implementations, a divot 3-216 may, or may not, be formed in the semiconductor layer. The semiconductor layer 4-910 may have a thickness between approximately 5 nm and approximately 100 nm according to some embodiments, though other thicknesses may be used in some embodiments. According to some implementations, excitation energy or photons 4-930 from an excitation source may impinge upon the semiconductor layer 4-910 and produce excitons 4-920. The excitons may diffuse to a surface of the sample well where they may non-radiatively recombine and transfer energy to a sample adjacent the walls of the sample well.

FIG. 4-9B depicts another embodiment in which a semiconductor layer 4-912 may be used to non-radiatively transfer energy from excitation energy to a sample. In some embodiments, a semiconductor layer 4-912 may be formed at the bottom of a sample well or in a divot of the sample well 2-211, as depicted in the drawing. The semiconductor layer 4-912 may be formed in a sample well by using a directional deposition process as described herein in connection with process steps for depositing an adherent at the base of the sample well, according to some embodiments. The semiconductor layer 4-912 may have a thickness between approximately 5 nm and approximately 100 nm according to some embodiments, though other thicknesses may be used in other embodiments. Incident radiation may generate excitons within the semiconductor layer, which may then diffuse to the a bottom surface of the sample well 2-211. The excitons may then non-radiatively transfer energy to a sample within the sample well.

The present disclosure also provides multiple non-radiative pathways for transferring excitation energy to a sample. According to some embodiments, and as depicted in FIG. 4-9C, an energy-transfer particle 4-940 may be deposited within a sample well. The energy-transfer particle may comprise a quantum dot in some embodiments, or may comprise a molecule in some embodiments. In some implementations, the energy-transfer particle 4-940 may be functionalized to a surface of the sample well through a linking molecule. A thin semiconductor layer 4-910 may be formed adjacent the sample well, or within the sample well, and excitons may be generated within the semiconductor layer from the excitation energy incident upon the semiconductor layer, as depicted in the drawing. The excitons may diffuse to the surface of the sample well, and non-radiatively transfer energy to the energy-transfer particle 4-940. The energy-transfer particle 4-940 may then non-radiatively transfer energy to a sample 3-101 within the sample well.

According to some implementations, there may be more than one energy-transfer particle 4-940 within a sample well. For example, a layer of energy-transfer particles 4-942 may be deposited within a sample well, such as the sample well depicted in FIG. 4-9C.

In some implementations, energy-transfer particles 4-942, or a single energy-transfer particle 4-940, may be deposited at a base of a sample well, as depicted in FIG. 4-9D. The energy-transfer particle, or particles, may radiatively or non-radiatively transfer excitation energy to a sample 3-101 within the well. For example, an energy-transfer particle may absorb incident energy to form an excited state of the energy-transfer particle, and then radiatively or non-radiatively transfer energy to the sample 3-101.

In some implementations, an energy-transfer particle may absorb incident excitation energy, and then re-emit radiative energy at a wavelength that is different than the wavelength of the absorbed excitation energy. The re-emitted energy may then be used to excite a sample within the sample well. FIG. 4-9E represents spectral graphs associated with a down-converting energy-transfer particle. According to some embodiments, a down-converting energy-transfer particle comprises a quantum dot that may absorb short wavelength radiation (higher energy), and emit one or more longer wavelength radiations (lower energy). An example absorption curve 4-952 is depicted in the graph as a dashed line for a quantum dot having a radius between 6 to 7 nm. The quantum dot may emit a first band of radiation illustrated by the curve 4-954, a second band of radiation illustrated by the curve 4-956, and a third band of radiation illustrated by the curve 4-958.

In some implementations an energy-transfer particle may up convert energy from an excitation source. FIG. 4-9F depicts spectra associated with up conversion from an energy-transfer particle. According to some embodiments, a quantum dot may be excited with radiation at approximately 980 nm, and then re-emit into one of three spectral bands as illustrated in the graph. A first band may be centered at approximately 483 nm, a second band may be centered at approximately 538 nm, and a third band may be centered at approximately 642 nm. The re-emitted photons from the quantum dot are more energetic than the photons of the radiation used to excite the quantum dot. Accordingly, energy from the excitation source is up-converted. One or more of the emitted spectral bands may be used to excite one or more one or more samples within the sample well.

E. Directing Emission Energy Towards the Sensor

The assay chip 2-110 may include one or more components per pixel to improve collection of emission energy by the sensors on the instrument. Such components may be designed to spatially direct emission energy towards the sensors and increase the directionality of the emission energy from the sample well 2-211. Both surface optics and far-field optics may be used to direct the emission energy towards the sensor.

1. Surface Optics

Components within a pixel of the assay chip 2-110 located near the sample well of the pixel may be configured to couple with the emission energy emitted by a sample. Such components may be formed at the interface between two layers of the assay chip. For example, some emission energy coupling elements may be formed at the interface between a sample well layer and the layer adjacent to the sample well layer opposite to where the sample wells are formed. In some instances, the layer underneath the sample well layer is a dielectric layer and the emission energy coupling elements may support surface plasmons. In other embodiments, the sample well layer may be a conductive material adjacent to an optically-transparent material. Surface-energy coupling elements may be surface optical structures that are excited by and interact with radiative emission from the sample well.

A characteristic dimension of a surface optical structure such as a grating period, feature size, or distance from the sample well may be selected to maximally couple a parallel component of an emission energy momentum vector into a surface wave momentum vector for a surface plasmon. For example, the parallel component of the emission energy momentum vector may be matched to the surface wave momentum vector for a surface plasmon supported by the structure, according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, a distance d from the sample well to an edge or characteristic feature of a surface optical structure may be selected so as to direct emission energy from the sample well in a selected direction, such as normal to the surface or inclined at an angle θ from normal to the surface. For example, the distance, d, may be an integral number of surface-plasmon wavelengths for directing emission normal to the surface. In some embodiments, distance, d, may be selected to be a fractional surface-plasmon wavelength, or wavelength modulo thereof.

According to some embodiments, the surface optical structures may direct radiative emission energy from a sample well in a direction normal to the sample well layer. The coupled energy may be directed in the normal direction in a narrowed, directional radiation pattern.

An example of a surface optical structure is a concentric grating. A concentric grating structure that may be formed in a pixel of the assay chip to direct emission energy towards one or more sensors of the pixel. The concentric grating structure may be formed around a sample well. An example of a concentric circular grating surface 5-102 as a surface plasmon structure is depicted in FIG. 5-1. The circular grating may comprise any suitable number of rings and the number of rings (six) shown in FIG. 10-1 is a non-limiting example. The circular grating may comprise protruding rings from a surface of a conductive layer. For example, the circular grating may be formed at the interface of the sample well layer and a dielectric layer formed underneath the sample well layer. The sample well layer may be a conductive material and the concentric grating may be formed by patterning the grating structure at the interface between the conductive material and the dielectric. The rings of the circular grating may be on a regular periodic spacing, or may have irregular or aperiodic spacings between the rings. The sample well may be located at or near the center of the circular grating. In some embodiments, the sample well may be located off-center to the circular grating and may be positioned a certain distance from the center of the grating. In some embodiments, a grating-type surface energy-coupling component may comprise a spiral grating. An example of a spiral grating 5-202 is depicted in FIG. 5-2. The spiral grating 5-202 may comprise a spiral aperture in a conductive film. Any suitable dimensions of the spiral grating may be used to form the spiral grating.

FIG. 5-3 illustrates a radiation pattern 5-302 for emission energy from the sample well 2-211. The concentric grating structure 2-223 causes the emission energy to have greater directionality compared to the radiation pattern formed in the absence of the grating structure 2-223. In some embodiments, the emission energy is directed downward, normal to the metal layer 2-221.

Another example of a surface optic or surface plasmon structure is a nano-antenna structure. A nano-antenna structure may be designed to spatially direct emission energy from the sample well. In some embodiments, the location of the sample well with respect to the nano-antenna structure is selected so as to direct the emission energy from the sample well in a particular direction towards one or more sensors. Nano-antennas may comprise nano-scale dipole antenna structures that are designed to produce a directional radiation pattern when excited by emission energy. The nano-antennas may be distributed around a sample well. The directional radiation pattern may result from a summation of the antennas' electromagnetic fields. In some embodiments, the directional radiation pattern may result from a summation of the antennas' electromagnetic fields with the field emitted directly from the sample. In some implementations, the field emitted directly from the sample may be mediated by a surface plasmon between the sample well and nano-antenna structure.

The dimensions of the individual nano-antennas that form the nano-antenna structure may be selected for the combined ability of the overall nano-antenna structure to produce specific distribution patterns. For example, the diameters of the individual nano-antennas may vary within a nano-antenna structure. However, in some instances, the diameters may be the same within a set of nano-antennas. In other implementations, a few selected diameters may be used throughout the overall nano-antenna structure. Some nano-antennas may be distributed on a circle of radius R and some may be shifted in a radial direction from the circle. Some nano-antennas may be equally spaced around a circle of radius R (e.g., centered on equivalent polar-angle increments), and some may be shifted from equal spacing around the circle. In some embodiments, the nano-antennas may be arranged in a spiral configuration around a sample well. Additionally or alternatively, other configurations of nano-antennas are possible, such as a matrix array around the sample well, a cross distribution, and star distributions. Individual nano-antennas may be shapes other than a circle, such as square, rectangular, cross, triangle, bow-tie, annular ring, pentagon, hexagon, polygons, etc. In some embodiments, the circumference of an aperture or disc may be approximately an integer multiple of a fractional wavelength, e.g., (N/2)λ.

A nano-antenna array may direct emission energy from a sample into concentrated radiation lobes. When a sample emits energy, it may excite surface plasmons that propagate from the sample well to the nano-antennas distributed around the sample well. The surface plasmons may then excite radiation modes or dipole emitters at the nano-antennas that emit radiation perpendicular to the surface of the sample well layer. The phase of an excited mode or dipole at a nano-antenna will depend upon the distance of the nano-antenna from the sample well. Selecting the distance between the sample well and an individual nano-antenna controls the phase of radiation emitted from the nano-antenna. The spatial radiation mode excited at a nano-antenna will depend upon the geometry and/or size of the nano-antenna. Selecting the size and/or geometry of an individual nano-antenna controls the spatial radiation mode emitted from the nano-antenna. Contributions from all nano-antennas in the array and, in some instances the sample well, may determine an overall radiation lobe or lobes that form the radiation pattern. As may be appreciated, phase and spatial radiation mode emitted from an individual nano-antenna may depend upon wavelength, so that the overall radiation lobe or lobes that form the radiation pattern will also be dependent upon wavelength. Numerical simulations of the electromagnetic fields may be employed to determine overall radiation lobe patterns for emission energies of different characteristic wavelengths.

The nano-antenna may comprise an array of holes or apertures in a conductive film. For example, the nano-antenna structure may be formed at the interface between a conductive sample well layer and an underlying dielectric layer. The holes may comprise sets of holes distributed in concentric circles surrounding a central point. In some embodiments, a sample well is located at the central point of the array, while in other embodiments the sample well may be off-center. Each circularly-distributed set of holes may comprise a collection of different diameters arranged smallest to largest around the circular distribution. The hole diameters may be different between the sets (e.g., a smallest hole in one set may be larger than a smallest hole in another set), and the location of the smallest hole may be oriented at a different polar angle for each set of circles. In some embodiments, there may be one to seven sets of the circularly-distributed holes in a nano-antenna. In other embodiments, there may be more than seven sets. In some embodiments, the holes may not be circular, but may be any suitable shape. For example, the holes may be ellipses, triangles, rectangles, etc. In other embodiments, the distribution of holes may not be circular, but may create a spiral shape.

FIGS. 5-4A and 5-4B illustrate an exemplary nano-antenna structure comprised of holes or apertures in a conductive layer. FIG. 5-4A shows a top planar view of the surface of an assay chip with a sample well 5-108 surrounded by holes 5-122. The nano-antenna holes are distributed with their centers approximately around a circle of radius R. In this non-limiting example, the hole diameters vary by incrementally increasing around the circumference of the circle of holes. FIG. 5-4B shows a schematic of a cross-sectional view of the assay chip shown in FIG. 5-4A along line B-B′. The sample well layer 5-116 that includes sample well 5-108 and apertures 5-122 that are part of the nano-antenna structure. Layer 5-118 of the assay chip lies underneath sample well layer 5-116. Layer 5-118 may be a dielectric material and/or an optically transparent material.

In some embodiments, the nano-antenna structure may comprise a plurality of disks. The disks of the nano-antenna structure may be formed as conductive disks protruding from a surface of a conductive material. The conductive material may be adjacent an optically-transparent material. In some embodiments, the nano-antennas may be distributed around a sample well. In some instances, the nano-antennas may be distributed approximately around a sample well at a circle of radius R. A nano-antenna array may comprise multiple sets of nano-antennas distributed approximately on additional circles of different radii around a sample well.

FIGS. 5-5A and 5-5B illustrate an exemplary embodiment of a nano-antenna structure comprising disks protruding from a conductive layer. FIG. 5-5A shows a top planar view schematic of the surface of an assay chip with a sample well 5-208 surrounded by disks 5-224. The nano-antenna disks are distributed approximately around a circle of radius R. In this non-limiting example, two diameters are used for the disks and the disks alternate between these two diameters around the circumference of the circle of nano-antenna. FIG. 5-5B shows a schematic of a cross-sectional view of the assay chip shown in FIG. 5-5A along line C-C′. The sample well layer 5-216 that includes sample well 5-208 and disks 5-224 that are part of the nano-antenna structure. The disks 5-224 protrude from the sample well layer 5-216 by a certain distance. In some embodiments, the distance the disks extend from the sample well layer may vary within a nano-antenna structure. Layer 5-218 of the assay chip lies underneath sample well layer 5-216. Layer 5-18 may be a dielectric material and/or an optically transparent material. The sample well layer 5-216 and the protruding disks may be a conductive material.

2. Far Field Optics

In some embodiments, the layer directly under the surface optics may be a spacer layer 2-225 of any suitable thickness and be made of any suitable dielectric material. The spacer layer may be, for example, 10 μm in thickness and may be made of silicon dioxide. Alternatively, this spacer layer may be 48 μm or 50 μm. The under the spacer layer may be one or more lens layers with additional spacer layers. For example, FIG. 5-6A illustrates an upper lens layer 5-601 which may include at least one refractive lens. In some embodiments, the upper lens layer may be located 5 μm below the sample well layer 2-221. There may be one or more lenses associated with each sample well. In some embodiments, a lens array may be used. In some embodiments, each lens of the upper lens layer 5-601 is centered below sample well 2-211 and may have a radius, for example, smaller than 10.5 μm. The upper lens layer may be made of any suitable dielectric material such as, by way of example and not limitation, silicon nitride.

The layer directly under the upper lens layer may be a structural and/or optical layer 5-605 made of any suitable dielectric. This structural and/or optical layer 5-605 may be made of silicon dioxide in the form of fused silica. The layer directly under the structural layer may be a lower lens layer 5-603 which may include at least one additional lens. In some embodiments, each lens in the lower lens layer 5-603may also be centered below the sample well. The lower lens layer 5-603 may be made of any suitable dielectric material such as, by way of example and not limitation, silicon nitride. The distance from the top of the upper lens layer to the bottom of the lower lens layer may be 100-500 μm. The layer directly under the lower lens layer may include an anti-reflection layer that passes both excitation energy and the emission energy and reduces the amount of light reflected. The layer directly under the anti-reflection layer may include structural components to allow the chip to align with and mount onto the instrument. The layer directly under the chip-mounting layer may include a protective cover to protect the system from damage and contamination, including dust.

While FIG. 5-6A illustrates two lens layers using refractive lenses, any suitable lens may be used. For example, Fresnel lenses, microlenses, refractive lens pairs and/or flat lenses may be used. FIG. 5-6B illustrates an embodiment using Fresnel lenses in both an upper lens layer 5-611 and a lower lens layer 5-613, separated by a structural and/or optical layer 5-605.

In some embodiments, any of the interfaces between the layers described above in the chip may include an anti-reflection coating or anti-reflection layer. Both the upper lens layer and the second lens layer may be arranged below the sample well to focus the luminescence emitted from the array of sample wells into a relay lens of the instrument.

IV. Instrument Components

I. Microscopy Layer of the Instrument

In some embodiments, the instrument may include a microscopy layer which may include sub-layers as illustrated in FIG. 6-1. In particular, the microscopy layer may include a sub-layer that includes a polychroic mirror 2-230 tilted at an angle θ to direct the excitation energy toward the assay chip. This polychroic mirror may be substantially dielectric, and reflects the excitation energy while substantially transmitting the emission energy from the sample in one or more of the sample wells on the assay chip. Optionally, an astigmatism compensation element 6-101 that includes an additional dielectric layer may be provided underneath the polychroic minor and tilted at the same angle θ, but about an axis that is orthogonal to that of the polychroic mirror's tilt, to provide compensation for astigmatism introduced by the polychroic mirror. In FIG. 6-1, the astigmatism compensation element 6-101 is illustrated as tilted in the same plane as the top filter, but it should be appreciated that the illustration represents a tilting with respect to the top filter and it is not meant to limit the orientation of the astigmatism compensation element 6-101 in any way. This astigmatism compensation element 6-101 may also provide additional filtering. For example, the astigmatism compensation element 6-101 may be another polychroic minor that further filters the excitation energy while transmitting the emission energy. A lens 6-103 may be provided underneath the astigmatism compensation element 6-101 to further help process the emission energy from the sample wells. The lens 6-103 may be, for example, 25.4 μm in diameter, but any suitable diameter may be used. In some embodiments, the lens is a relay lens comprising a plurality of lens elements. For example, the relay lens may include six separate lens elements. In some embodiments, the relay lens may be, approximately 17.5 mm in length. Additional filtering elements may be used before or after lens 6-103 to further reject the excitation energy to prevent it from reaching the sensors.

A. Sensor chip

Emission energy emitted from a sample in the sample well may be transmitted to the sensor of a pixel in a variety of ways, some examples of which are described in detail below. Some embodiments may use optical and/or plasmonic components to increase the likelihood that light of a particular wavelength is directed to an area or portion of the sensor that is dedicated to detecting light of that particular wavelength. The sensor may include multiple sub-sensors for simultaneously detecting emission energy of different wavelengths.

FIG. 6-2A is a schematic diagram of a single pixel of the sensor ship according to some embodiments where at least one sorting element 6-127 is used to direct emission energy of a particular wavelength to a respective sub-sensor 6-111 through 6-114. The emission energy 2-253 travels from a sample well through the assay chip and the optical system of the instrument until it reaches a sorting element 6-127 of the sensor chip. The sorting element 6-127 couples the wavelength of the emission energy 2-253 to a spatial degree of freedom, thereby separating the emission energy into its constituent wavelength components, referred to as sorted emission energy. FIG. 6-2A illustrates schematically the emission energy 2-253 being split into four sorted emission energy paths through a dielectric material 6-129, each of the four paths associated with a sub-sensor 6-111 through 6-114 of the pixel. In this way, each sub-sensor is associated with a different portion of the spectrum, forming a spectrometer for each pixel of the sensor chip.

Any suitable sorting element 6-127 may be used to separate the different wavelengths of the emission energy. Embodiments may use optical or plasmonic elements. Examples of optical sorting elements include, but are not limited to, holographic gratings, phase mask gratings, amplitude mask gratings, and offset Fresnel lenses. Examples of plasmonic sorting elements include, but are not limited to phased nano-antenna arrays, and plasmonic quasi-crystals.

FIG. 6-2B is a schematic diagram of a single pixel of the sensor chip according to some embodiments where filtering elements 6-121 through 6-124 are used to direct emission energy of a particular wavelength to a respective sub-sensor and prevent emission energy of other wavelengths from reaching the other sub-sensors. The emission energy 2-253 travels from a sample well through the assay chip and the optical system of the instrument until it reaches one of the filtering elements 6-121 through 6-124. The filtering elements 6-121 through 6-124, each associated with a particular sub-sensor 6-11 through 6-114, are each configured to transmit emission energy of a respective wavelength and reject emission energy of other wavelengths by absorbing the emission energy (not illustrated in FIG. 6-1B) and/or reflecting the emission energy. After passing through a respective filtering element, the filtered emission energy travels through a dielectric material 6-129 and impinges on a corresponding sub-sensor 6-111 through 6-114 of the pixel. In this way, each sub-sensor is associated with a different portion of the spectrum, forming a spectrometer for each pixel of the sensor chip.

Any suitable filtering elements may be used to separate the different wavelengths of the emission energy. Embodiments may use optical or plasmonic filtering elements. Examples of optical sorting elements include, but are not limited to, reflective multilayer dielectric filters or absorptive filters. Examples of plasmonic sorting elements include, but are not limited to frequency selective surfaces designed to transmit energy at a particular wavelength and photonic band-gap crystals.

Alternatively, or in addition to the above mentioned sorting elements and filtering elements, additional filtering elements may be place adjacent to each sub-sensor 6-11 through 6-114. The additional filtering elements may include a thin lossy film configured to create constructive interference for emission energy of a particular wavelength. The thin lossy film may be a single or multi-layer film. The thin lossy film may be made from any suitable material. For example, the thin lossy film may be made from a material where the index of refraction n is approximately the same order of magnitude as the extinction coefficient k. In other embodiments, the thin lossy film may be made from a material where the index of refraction n is within about two orders of magnitude difference from the value of the extinction coefficient k of the material. Non-limiting examples of such materials at visible wavelengths are germanium and silicon.

The thin lossy film may be any suitable thickness. In some embodiments, the thin lossy film may be 1-45 nm thick. In other embodiments, the thin lossy film may be 15-45 nm thick. In still other embodiments, the thin lossy film may be 1-20 nm thick. FIG. 6-3A illustrates an embodiment where the thin lossy films 6-211 through 6-214 each have a different thickness determined at least in part by the wavelength that is associated with each sub-sensor 6-11 through 6-114. The thickness of the film determines, at least in part, a distinct wavelength that will selectively pass through the thin lossy film to the sub-sensor. As illustrated in FIG. 6-211, thin lossy film 6-211 has a thickness d1, thin lossy film 6-212 has a thickness d2, thin lossy film 6-213 has a thickness d3, and thin lossy film 6-214 has a thickness d4. The thickness of each subsequent thin lossy film is less than the previous thin lossy film such that d1>d2>d3>d4.

Additionally, or alternatively, the thin lossy films may be formed of a different material with a different properties such that emission energy of different wavelengths constructively interfere at each respective sub-sensor. For example, the index of refraction n and/or the extinction coefficient k may be selected to optimize transmission of emission energy of a particular wavelength. FIG. 6-3B illustrates thin lossy films 6-221 through 6-224 with the same thickness but each thin lossy film is formed from a different material. In some embodiments, both the material of the thin lossy films and the thickness of the thin lossy films may be selected such that emission energy of a desired wavelength constructively interferes and is transmitted through the film.

FIG. 6-1 illustrates an embodiment where a combination of diffractive elements and lenses are used to sort the emission energy by wavelength. A first layer 6-105 of the sensor chip may include a blazed phase grating. The blazed grating may be blazed, for example, at an angle φ substantially equal to 40 degrees and the line spacing of the blazed grating (Λ) may be substantially equal to 1.25 μm. One of skill in the art would appreciate that different blaze angles and periodicities may be used to achieve separation of light of different wavelengths of emission energy. Moreover, any suitable diffractive optical element may be used to separate the different wavelengths of the emission energy. For example, a phase mask, an amplitude mask, a blazed grating or an offset Fresnel lens may be used.

A second layer 6-106 of the sensor chip 2-260 may include one or more Fresnel lenses disposed beneath the first layer 6-105 to further sort and direct the emission energy to the sensors 6-107. Moreover, any suitable lens element may be used to further separate the different wavelengths of the emission energy. For example, a refractive lens may be used instead of a Fresnel lens.

The various components of FIG. 6-1 may be spaced apart at any suitable distances. For example, the surface of the sensors may be located at a distance of 5 μm beneath the Fresnel lens layer 6-106; the distance from the center of the lens 6-103 of the microscopy layer to the Fresnel lens layer 6-106 may be 50.6 mm; the blazed phase grating 6-105 may be located at a distance of approximately 100 μm above the surface of the sensors. Alternatively, the distance from the bottom of the assay chip to the top of the grating 6-105 may be approximately 53 mm. The width of the sensor layer may be approximately 10 mm.

The various layers of the assay chip and instrument need not be in the order described above. In some embodiments, the focusing and/or sorting elements and the imaging optics of the instrument may be in reverse order. For example, the blazed phase grating 6-105 may be placed after the Fresnel lens layer 6-106. Alternatively, the focusing and/or sorting elements and the imaging optics may be incorporated into a single diffractive optical element (DOE). In addition, various components of the assay chip and instrument may be intermingled such that, for example, imaging optics may occur both above and below the focusing and/or sorting elements.

Any of the interfaces between the layers, including the interface between air and a layer of the system, described above in the system may include an anti-reflection coating.

B. Embodiment of the Optical Block of the Instrument

In some embodiments, the optical block of the instrument 1-120 may include some or all of the optical components described above. The optical block may provide the optical components as arranged in FIG. 6-4. In addition to the components described above, the optical block may include a first fiber connector 6-401 where a first optical fiber carrying a first wavelength of excitation energy may connect and a second fiber connector 6-402 where a second optical fiber carrying a second wavelength of excitation energy may connect. By way of example and not limitation, the first excitation wavelength of the excitation energy may be 630-640 nm. The optical fiber connectors may be any suitable conventional connector, such as an FC or an LC connector. If two different wavelengths are input, the wavelengths may be combined with a wavelength combiner 6-403, such as a dichroic or polychroic mirror. The second excitation wavelength may be 515-535 nm. The input excitation energy may be any suitable polarization, such as linear polarization. In some embodiments, the fiber carrying the excitation energy may be a polarization-maintaining fiber. Optionally, excitation filters and polarizers, such as optical fiber-to-free-space couplers, may be used after the optical fiber input to further filter or modify characteristics of the excitation energy.

The optical block may include one or more metal housings to hold lenses and other optical components for optical processing such as beam shaping. FIG. 6-4 illustrates four metal housings 6-405 through 6-408, each holding a lens and/or other optical components. There may be any number of lenses used to collimate and focus the excitation energy. One or more mirrors 6-411 and 6-412 are situated between some of the metal housings for guiding the excitation energy towards the assay chip 2-110. In FIG. 6-4, the first mirror 6-411directs the excitation energy from the second housing 6-406 to the third housing 6-407 and the second mirror 6-412 reflects the excitation energy from the fourth housing 6-408 to a polychroic dielectric mirror 2-230. The polychroic dielectric minor 2-230 directs the excitation energy towards an astigmatism compensation filter 6-601.

In some embodiments, circularly polarized light may be directed into the sample well to cause the luminescent markers to emit luminescence with similar strength. A quarter-wave plate may be used to transfer the linearly polarized light to circularly polarized light before it reaches the assay chip. The polychroic dielectric mirror 2-230 directs the excitation energy to the quarter wave plate 6-415. As illustrated in FIG. 6-4, the quarter-wave plate 6-415 may be disposed between the astigmatism compensation filter 6-101and the assay chip 2-110. The circularly polarized excitation energy is then directed towards the plurality of pixels on the assay chip. Excitation energy that is not directed towards the pixels may be absorbed by a beam dump component 6-417. Excitation energy that reaches the sample inside one or more sample wells will cause the sample to emit emission energy, which is directed toward the sensor 2-260. The emission energy may pass through optical components such as polarization optics, the astigmatism compensating element 6-101, the polychroic mirror 2-230 and a relay lens 6-103. The polychroic minor acts as a filer, which may be, by way of example, a notch filter, a spike filter or a cut-off filter. The relay lens 6-103 may image the emission energy toward the sensor. A portion of the emission energy may then pass through one or more emission filters 6-421 and 6-422, situated above the sensor 2-260, which may further filter the emission energy. In some embodiments, the emission filters may be tilted at an angle relative to the incident emission energy propagation direction in order to tune the transmission characteristics of the filters and/or reduce interference caused by back reflections. If the top filter 6-421 is tilted at an angle θ, the bottom filter 6-422 may be tilted at the same angle θ, but about an axis that is orthogonal to that of the top filter's tilt, to ensure no astigmatism is introduced into the emission radiation beam path.

C. Sensors

The present disclosure provides various embodiments of sensors, sensor operation, and signal processing methods. According to some embodiments, a sensor 2-122 at a pixel of the sensor chip 2-260 may comprise any suitable sensor capable of receiving emission energy from one or more tags in the sample well, and producing one or more electrical signals representative of the received emission energy. In some embodiments, a sensor may comprise at least one a photodetector (e.g., a p-n junction formed in a semiconductor substrate). FIG. 7-1A and FIG. 7-1B depicts one embodiment of a sensor that may be fabricated within a pixel 2-100 of a sensor chip.

According to some embodiments, a sensor 2-122 may be formed at each pixel 2-100 of a sensor chip. The sensor may be associated with a sample well 2-211 of the assay chip. There may be one or more transparent layers 7-110 above the sensor, so that emission from the sample well may travel to the sensor without significant attenuation. The sensor 2-122 may be formed in a semiconductor substrate 7-120 at a base of the pixel, according to some embodiments, and be located on a same side of the sample well as the assay chip (not shown).

The sensor may comprise one or more semiconductor junction photodetector segments. Each semiconductor junction may comprise a well of a first conductivity type. For example, each semiconductor junction may comprise an n-type well formed in a p-type substrate, as depicted in the drawing. According to some embodiments, a sensor 2-122 may be arranged as a bulls-eye detector 7-162, as depicted in the plan view of FIG. 7-1B. A first photodetector 7-124 may be located at a center of the sensor, and a second annular photodetector 7-122 may surround the center photodetector. Electrical contacts to the wells may be made through conductive traces 7-134 formed at a first or subsequent metallization level and through conductive vias 7-132. There may be a region of highly doped semiconductor material 7-126 at contact regions of the vias. In some embodiments, a field oxide 7-115 may be formed at surfaces between the photodetectors and may cover a portion of each photodetector. In some implementations, there may be additional semiconductor devices 7-125 (e.g., transistors, amplifiers, etc.) formed within the pixel adjacent to the sensor 2-122. There may be additional metallization levels 7-138, 7-136 within the pixel.

In some implementations, a metallization levels 7-136 may extend across a majority of the pixel and have an opening centered above the photodetector 7-124, so that emission from the sample well can reach the sensor. In some cases, a metallization level 7-136 may serve as a reference potential or a ground plane, and additionally serve as an optical block to prevent at least some background radiation (e.g., radiation from an excitation source or from the ambient environment) from reaching the sensor 2-260.

As depicted in FIG. 7-1A and FIG. 7-1B, a sensor 2-122 may be subdivided into a plurality of photodetector segments 7-122, 7-124 that are spatially and electrically separated from each other. In some embodiments, segments of a sensor 2-122 may comprise regions of oppositely-doped semiconductor material. For example, a first charge accumulation well 7-124 for a first sensor segment may be formed by doping a first region of a substrate to have a first conductivity type (e.g., n-type) within the first well. The substrate may be p-type. A second charge accumulation well 7-122 for a second sensor segment may be formed by doping a second region of the substrate to have the first conductivity type within the second well. The first and second wells may be separated by a p-type region of the substrate.

The plurality of segments of the sensor 2-122 may be arranged in any suitable way other than a bulls-eye layout, and there may be more than two segments in a sensor. For example, in some embodiments, a plurality of photodetector segments 7-142 may be laterally separated from one another to form a stripe sensor 7-164, as depicted in FIG. 7-1C. In some embodiments, a quad (or quadrant) sensor 7-166 may be formed by arranging the segments 7-144 in a quad pattern, as depicted in FIG. 7-1D. In some implementations, arc segments 7-146 may be formed in combination with a bulls-eye pattern, as depicted in FIG. 7-1E, to form an arc-segmented sensor 7-168. Another sensor configuration may comprise pie-piece sections, which may include individual sensors arranged in separate section of a circle. In some cases, sensor segments may be arranged symmetrically around a sample well 2-211 or asymmetrically around a sample well. The arrangement of sensor segments is not limited to only the foregoing arrangements, and any suitable distribution of sensor segments may be used.

The inventors have found that a quadrant sensor 7-166, pie-sector sensor, or similar sector sensor can scale to smaller pixel sizes more favorably than other sensor configurations. Quadrant and sector detectors may consume less pixel area for a number of wavelengths detected and active sensor area.

Sensors may be arranged in various geometric configurations. In some examples, sensors are arranged in a square configurations or hexagonal configuration.

Sensors of the present disclosure may be independently (or individually) addressable. An individually addressable is capable of detecting a signal and providing an output independent of other sensors. An individually addressable sensor may be individually readable.

In some embodiments, a stacked sensor 7-169 may be formed by fabricating a plurality of separated sensor segments 7-148 in a vertical stack, as depicted in FIG. 7-1F. For example, the segments may be located one above the other, and there may, or may not, be insulating layers between the stacked segments. Each vertical layer may be configured to absorb emission energy of a particular energy, and pass emission at different energies. For example, a first detector may absorb and detect shorter-wavelength radiation (e.g., blue-wavelength radiation below about 500 nm from a sample). The first detector may pass green- and red-wavelength emissions from a sample. A second detector may absorb and detect green-wavelength radiation (e.g., between about 500 nm and about 600 nm) and pass red emissions. A third detector may absorb and detect the red emissions. Reflective films 7-149 may be incorporated in the stack, in some embodiments, to reflect light of a selected wavelength band back through a segment. For example, a film may reflect green-wavelength radiation that has not been absorbed by the second segment back through the second segment to increase its detection efficiency.

In some embodiments with vertically-stacked sensor segments, emission-coupling components may not be included at the sample well to produce distinct spatial distribution patterns of sample emission that are dependent on emission wavelength. Discernment of spectrally different emissions may be achieved with a vertically-stacked sensor 7-169 by analyzing the ratio of signals from its stacked segment, according to some embodiments.

In some embodiments, segments of a sensor 2-122 are formed from silicon, though any suitable semiconductor (e.g., Ge, GaAs, SiGe, InP, etc.) may be used. In some embodiments, a sensor segment may comprise an organic photoconductive film. In other embodiments, quantum dot photodetectors may be used for sensor segments. Quantum dot photodetectors may respond to different emission energies based on the size of the quantum dot. In some embodiments, a plurality of quantum dots of varying sizes may be used to discriminate between different emission energies or wavelengths received from the sample well. For example, a first segment may be formed from quantum dots having a first size, and a second segment may be formed from quantum dots having a second size. In various embodiments, sensors 2-122 may be formed using conventional CMOS processes.

As described above, emission-coupling components may be fabricated adjacent the sample well in some embodiments. The sorting elements 2-243 can alter emission from a sample within the sample well 2-211 to produce distinct spatial distribution patterns of sample emission that are dependent on emission wavelength. FIG. 7-2A depicts an example of a first spatial distribution pattern 7-250 that may be produced from a first sample at a first wavelength. The first spatial distribution pattern 7-250 may have a prominent central lobe directed toward a central segment of a bulls-eye sensor 7-162, for example, as shown in FIG. 7-2B. Such a pattern 7-250 may be produced by any suitable diffractive element when the sample emits at a wavelength of about 663 nm. A projected pattern 7-252 incident on the sensor may appear as illustrated in FIG. 7-2B.

FIG. 7-2C depicts a spatial distribution pattern 7-260 that may be produced from a second sample emitting at a second wavelength from the same sample well, according to some embodiments. The second spatial distribution pattern 7-260 may comprise two lobes of radiation and differ from the first spatial distribution pattern 7-250. A projected pattern 7-262 of the second spatial distribution pattern 7-260 may appear as depicted in FIG. 7-2D, according to some embodiments. The second spatial distribution pattern 7-260 may be produced by any suitable diffractive element when the sample emits at a wavelength of about 687 nm.

The segments of a sensor 2-122 may be arranged to detect particular emission energies, according to some embodiments. For example, emission-coupling structures adjacent the sample well and segments of a sensor may be designed in combination to increase signal differentiation between particular emission energies. The emission energies may correspond to selected tags that will be used with the sensor chip. As an example, a bulls-eye sensor 7-162 could have its segments sized and/or located to better match the projected patterns 7-260, 7-262 from a sample, so that regions of higher intensity fall more centrally within active segments of the sensor. Alternatively or additionally, diffractive elements may be designed to alter the projected patterns 7-260, 7-262 so that intense regions fall more centrally within segments of the sensor.

Although a sensor 2-122 may comprise two segments, it is possible in some embodiments to discern more than two spectrally-distinct emission bands from a sample. For example, each emission band may produce a distinct projected pattern on the sensor segments and yield a distinct combination of signals from the sensor segments. The combination of signals may be analyzed to discern and identify the emission band. FIG. 7-2E through FIG. 7-2H represent results from numerical simulations of signals from a two-segment sensor 2-122 exposed to four distinct emission patterns. As can be seen, each combination of signals from the two sensor segments is distinct, and can be used to discriminate between emitters at the four wavelengths. For the simulation, because the outer detector segment of the bulls-eye sensor 7-162 had a larger area, more signal was integrated for that detector. Additionally, light that impinged on an area between the detectors generated carriers that may drift towards either detector segment and contribute to signals from both segments.

In some embodiments, there may be N photodetector segments per pixel, where N may be any integer value. In some embodiments, N may be greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to 10. In other embodiments, N may be greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to 5. The number M of discernible sample emissions (e.g., distinct emission wavelengths from different luminescent tags) that may be detected by the N detectors may be equal to or greater than N. The discernment of M sample emissions may be achieved by evaluating the ratio of signals from each sensor segment, according to some embodiments. In some implementations, the ratio, sum and/or amplitudes of the received signals may be measured and analyzed to determine a characteristic wavelength of emission from the sample well.

In some embodiments, more than one emitter may emit at different characteristic wavelengths in a given time window within a sample well 2-211. A sensor 2-122 may simultaneously detect signals from multiple emissions at different wavelengths and provide the summed signal for data processing. In some implementations, multi-wavelength emission may be distinguishable as another set of signal values from the sensor segments (e.g., signal values different from those shown in FIG. 7-2E through FIG. 7-2H). The signal values may be analyzed to discern that multi-wavelength emission has occurred and to identify a particular combination of emitters associated with the emissions.

The inventors have also contemplated and analyzed a bulls-eye sensor having four concentric segments. Signals from the segments are plotted in FIG. 7-2I and FIG. 7-2J for the same emission conditions associated with FIG. 7-2G and FIG. 7-2H, respectively. The four-segment bulls-eye sensor also shows discernable signals that may be analyzed to identify a particular emitter within the sample well.

When wavelength filtering is used at each sensor segment, or the spectral separation is high, each segment of a sensor may detect substantially only a selected emission band. For example, a first wavelength may be detected by a first segment, a second wavelength may be detected by a second segment, and a third wavelength may be detected by a third segment.

Referring again to FIG. 7-1A, there may be additional electronic circuitry 7-125 within a pixel 2-100 that may be used to collect and readout signals from each segment of a sensor 2-122. FIG. 7-3A and FIG. 7-3D depict circuitry that may be used in combination with a multi-segment sensor, according to some embodiments. As an example, signal collection circuitry 7-310 may comprise three transistors for each sensor segment. An arrangement of the three transistors is depicted in FIG. 7-3B, according to some implementations. A signal level at a charge accumulation node 7-311 associated with each segment may be reset by a reset transistor RST, and a signal level for the segment (determined by the amount of charge at the charge accumulation node) may be read out with a read transistor RD.

The pixel circuitry may further include amplification and correlated double-sampling circuitry 7-320, according to some embodiments. The amplification and double-sampling circuitry may comprise transistors configured to amplify signals from the sensor segments as well as transistors configured to reset the voltage level at the charge-accumulation node and to read a background, or “reset”, signal at the node when no emission energy is present on the sensor (e.g., prior to application of excitation energy at the sample well) and to read a subsequent emission signal, for example.

According to some embodiments, correlated double sampling is employed to reduce background noise by subtracting a background or reset signal level from the detected emission signal level. The collected emission signal and background signal associated with each segment of the sensor may be read out onto column lines 7-330. In some embodiments, an emission signal level and background signal are time-multiplexed onto a common column line. There may be a separate column line for each sensor segment. Signals from the column lines may be buffered and/or amplified with amplification circuitry 7-340 (which may be located outside of an active pixel array), and provided for further processing and analysis. In some embodiments the subtraction of the double-sampled signals is calculated off-chip, e.g., by a system processor. In other embodiments, the subtraction may be performed on chip or in circuitry of the instrument.

Some embodiments of correlated double sampling may operate by selecting a row to sample, wherein the sensors associated with the row have integrated signal charges over a sampling period and contain signal levels. The signal levels may be simultaneously read out onto the columns lines. After sampling the integrated signal levels, all the pixels in the selected row may be reset and immediately sampled. This reset level may be correlated to the next integrated signal that starts accumulating after the reset is released, and finishes integrating a frame time later when the same row is selected again. In some embodiments, the reset values of the frame may be stored off-chip so that when the signals have finished integrating and have been sampled, the stored correlated reset values can be subtracted.

In some embodiments, a sensor 2-122 with more than two segments may require additional circuitry. FIG. 7-3C depicts signal-collection 7-312, amplification 7-320, and double-sampling circuitry associated with a quad sensor. According to some embodiments, signals from two or more segments may be time-multiplexed onto a common signal channel at the pixel, as depicted in the drawing. The time-multiplexed signals may include sampled background signals for each segment for noise cancellation. Additionally, the signals from two or more segments may be time-multiplexed onto a common column line.

According to some embodiments, temporal signal-acquisition techniques may be used to reduce background signal levels from an excitation source or sources, and/or discern different emissions from different emitters associated with a sample. FIG. 7-4A depicts fluorescent emission and decay from two different emitters that may be used to tag a sample, according to some embodiments. The two emissions have appreciably different time-decay characteristics. A first time-decay curve 7-410 from a first emitter may correspond to a common fluorescent molecule such as rhodamine. A second time-decay curve 7-420 may be characteristic of a second emitter, such as a quantum dot or a phosphorescent emitter. Both emitters exhibit an emission-decay tail that extends for some time after initial excitation of the emitter. In some embodiments, signal-collection techniques applied during the emission-decay tail may be timed to reduce a background signal from an excitation source, in some embodiments, and to distinguish between the emitters, in some embodiments.

According to some implementations, time-delayed sampling may be employed during the emission-decay tail to reduce a background signal due to radiation from an excitation source. FIG. 7-4B and FIG. 7-4C illustrate time-delay sampling, according to some embodiments. FIG. 7-4B depicts the temporal evolution of an excitation pulse 7-440 of excitation energy from an excitation source, and a subsequent emission pulse 7-450 that may follow from a sample that is excited within the sample well. The excitation pulse 7-440 may result from driving the excitation source with a drive signal 7-442 for a brief period of time, as depicted in FIG. 7-4C. For example, the drive signal may begin at a first time t₁ and end at a second time t₂. The duration of the drive signal (t₂−t₁) may be between about 1 picosecond and about 50 nanoseconds, according to some embodiments, though shorter durations may be used in some implementations.

At a time t₃ following termination of the drive signal for the excitation source, a sensor 2-260 (or sensor segment) at the pixel may be gated to accumulate charge at a charge accumulation node 7-311 during a second time interval extending from a time t₃ to a time t₄. The second time interval may be between about 1 nanosecond and about 50 microseconds, according to some embodiments, though other durations may be used in some implementations. As can be seen in reference to FIG. 7-4B, a charge accumulation node will collect more signal charges due to the emitting sample then due to the excitation source. Accordingly, an improved signal-to-noise ratio may be obtained.

Referring again to FIG. 7-4A, because of the different temporal emission characteristics of the emitters, corresponding signals at a sensor may peak at different times. In some implementations, signal-acquisition techniques applied during the emission-decay tail may be used to discern different emitters. In some embodiments, temporal detection techniques may be used in combination with spatial and spectral techniques (as described above in connection with FIG. 7-2, for example) to discern different emitters.

FIG. 7-4D through FIG. 7-4H illustrate how double-sampling at a sensor, or sensor segment, can be used to distinguish between two emitters having different temporal emission characteristics. FIG. 7-4D depicts emission curves 7-470, 7-475 associated with a first emitter and second emitter, respectively. As an example, the first emitter may be a common fluorophore such as rhodamine, and the second emitter may be a quantum dot or phosphorescent emitter.

FIG. 7-4E represents dynamic voltage levels at a charge accumulation node 7-311 that may occur in response to the two different emission characteristics of FIG. 7-4D. In the example, a first voltage curve 7-472 corresponding to the fluorescent emitter may change more rapidly, because of the shorter emission span, and reach its maximum (or minimum, depending on the polarity of the node) at a first time t₁. The second voltage curve 7-477 may change more slowly due to the longer emission characteristics of the second emitter, and reach its maximum (or minimum) at a second time t₂.

In some embodiments, sampling of the charge-accumulation node may be done at two times t₃, t₄ after the sample excitation, as depicted in FIG. 7-4F. For example, a first read signal 7-481 may be applied to read out a first voltage value from the charge-accumulation node at a first time t₃. Subsequently, a second read signal 7-482 may be applied to read out a second voltage value from the charge-accumulation node at a second time t₄ without resetting the charge-accumulation node between the first read and second read. An analysis of the two sampled signal values may then be used to identify which of the two emitters provided the detected signal levels.

FIG. 7-4G depicts an example of two signals from the first read and second read that may be obtained for the first emitter having an emission curve 7-470 as depicted in FIG. 7-4D. FIG. 7-4H depicts an example of two signals from the first read and second read that may be obtained for the second emitter having an emission curve 7-475 as depicted in FIG. 7-4D. For example the sampling sequence shown in FIG. 7-4F for the first emitter will sample the curve 7-472 and obtain approximately the same values at the two read times. In the case of the second emitter, the sampling sequence depicted in FIG. 7-4F samples two different values of the curve 7-477 at the two read times. The resulting pairs of signals from the two read times distinguish between the two emitters, and can be analyzed to identify each emitter. According to some embodiments, double sampling for background subtraction may also be executed to subtract a background signal from the first and second read signals.

In operation, sensors 2-260 of a sensor chip may be subjected to a wavelength calibration procedure prior to data collection from a specimen to be analyzed. The wavelength calibration procedure may include subjecting the sensors to different known energies having characteristic wavelengths that may, or may not, correspond to fluorophore wavelengths that may be used with a sensor chip. The different energies may be applied in a sequence so calibration signals can be recorded from the sensors for each energy. The calibration signals may then be stored as reference signals, that may be used to process real data acquisition and to determine what emission wavelength or wavelengths are detected by the sensors.

V. Luminescent Markers

Embodiments may use any suitable luminescent markers to label samples (e.g., single molecules) in the specimen being analyzed. In some embodiments, commercially available fluorophores may be used. By way of example and not limitation, the following fluorophores may be used: Atto Rho14 (“ATRho14”), Dylight 650 (“D650”), SetaTau 647 (“ST647”), CF 633 (“C633”), CF 647 (“C647”), Alexa fluor 647 (“AF647”), BODIPY 630/650 (“B630”), CF 640R (“C640R”) and/or Atto 647N (“AT647N”). Additionally and/or optionally, luminescent markers may be modified in any suitable way to increase the speed and accuracy of the sample analysis process. For example, a photostabilizer may be conjugated to a luminescent marker. Examples of photostabilizers include but not limited to oxygen scavengers or triplet-state quenchers. Conjugating photostabilizers to the luminescent marker may increase the rate of photons emitted and may also reduce a “blinking” effect where the luminescent marker does not emit photons. In some embodiments, when a biological event occurs on the millisecond scale, an increased rate of photon emission may increase the probability of detection of the biological event. Increased rates of photon events may subsequently increase the signal-to-noise ratio of luminescence signal and increase the rate at which measurements are made, leading to a faster and more accurate sample analysis.

VI. Excitation Sources

The excitation source 2-250 may be any suitable source that is arranged to deliver excitation energy to at least one sample well 2-111 of the assay chip. Pixels on the assay chip may be passive source pixels. The term “passive source pixel” is used to refer to a pixel wherein the excitation energy is delivered to the pixel from a region outside the pixel or pixel array of the assay chip, e.g., the excitation may be in the instrument.

According to some embodiments, an excitation source may excite a sample via a radiative process. For example, an excitation source may provide visible radiation (e.g., radiation having a wavelength between about 350 nm and about 750 nm), near-infrared radiation (e.g., radiation having a wavelength between about 0.75 micron and about 1.4 microns), and/or short wavelength infrared radiation (e.g., radiation having a wavelength between about 1.4 microns and about 3 microns) to at least one excitation region 3-215 of at least one sample well of the assay chip. In some embodiments, a radiative excitation source may provide energy to excite an intermediary (e.g., a molecule, a quantum dot, or a layer of material comprising selected molecules and/or quantum dots) that is immediately adjacent an excitation region of a sample well. The intermediary may transfer its energy to a sample via a non-radiative process (e.g., via FRET or DET).

In some embodiments, an excitation source may provide more than one source of excitation energy. For example, a radiative excitation source may deliver excitation energies having two or more distinct spectral characteristics. As an example, a multi-color LED may emit energies centered at two or more wavelengths, and these energies may be delivered to an excitation region of a sample well.

In overview and according to some embodiments, an instrument may include at least one excitation source 2-250 to provide excitation energy to at least one excitation region of at least one sample well of the assay chip or to at least one intermediary that converts or couples the excitation energy to at least one sample within one or more excitation regions. As depicted in FIG. 2-3, radiation excitation energy 2-251 from an excitation source 2-250 may impinge on a region around a sample well 2-211, for example. In some embodiments, there may be excitation coupling structures 2-223 that aid in concentrating the incident excitation energy within an excitation region 2-215 of the sample well.

An excitation source may be characterized by one or more distinct spectral bands each having a characteristic wavelength. For instructional purposes only, an example of spectral emission from an excitation source is depicted in spectral graph of FIG. 8-1A. The excitation energy may be substantially contained within a spectral excitation band 8-110. A peak wavelength 8-120 of the spectral excitation band may be used to characterize the excitation energy. The excitation energy may also be characterized by a spectral distribution, e.g., a full-width-half-maximum (FWHM) value as shown in the drawing. An excitation source producing energy as depicted in FIG. 8-1A, may be characterized as delivering energy at a wavelength of approximately 540 nm radiation and having a FWHM bandwidth of approximately 55 nm.

FIG. 4-1B depicts spectral characteristics of an excitation source (or excitation sources) that can provide two excitation energy bands to one or more sample wells. According to some embodiments, a first excitation band 8-112 is at approximately 532 nm, and a second excitation band 8-114 is at approximately 638 nm, as illustrated in the drawing. In some embodiments, a first excitation band may be at approximately 638 nm, and a second excitation band may be at approximately 650 nm. In some embodiments, a first excitation band may be at approximately 680 nm, and a second excitation band may be at approximately 690 nm. According to some embodiments, the peaks of the excitation bands may be within ±5 nm of these values.

In some cases, a radiative excitation source may produce a broad excitation band as depicted in FIG. 8-1A. A broad excitation band 8-110 may have a bandwidth greater than approximately 20 nm, according to some embodiments. A broad excitation band may be produced by a light emitting diode (LED), for example. In some implementations, a radiative excitation source may produce a narrow excitation band, as depicted in FIG. 8-1B. A narrow excitation band may be produced by a laser diode, for example, or may be produced by spectrally filtering an output from an LED.

In some embodiments, the excitation source may be a light source. Any suitable light source may be used. Some embodiments may use incoherent sources and other embodiments may use coherent light sources. By way of example and not limitation, incoherent light sources according to some embodiments may include different types of light emitting diodes (LEDs) such as organic LEDs (OLEDs), quantum dots (QLEDs), nanowire LEDs, and (in)organic semiconductor LEDs. By way of example and not limitation, coherent light sources according to some embodiments may include different types of lasers such as organic lasers, quantum dot lasers, vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs), edge emitting lasers, and distributed-feedback (DFB) laser diodes. Additionally or alternatively, slab-coupled optical waveguide laser (SCOWLs) or other asymmetric single-mode waveguide structures may be used. Additionally or alternatively, a solid state laser such as Nd:YAG or Nd:Glass, pumped by laser diodes or flashlamps, may be used. Additionally or alternatively, a laser-diode-pumped fiber laser may be used. In some embodiments, the output of a laser excitation source may be doubled in frequency to half the wavelength, in a nonlinear crystal, or a Periodically Poled Lithium Niobate (PPLN) or other similar periodically poled nonlinear crystal. This frequency doubling process may allow use of efficient lasers to generate wavelengths more suitable for excitation. There may be more than one type of excitation source for an array of pixels. In some embodiments, different types of excitation sources may be combined. The excitation source may be fabricated according to conventional technologies that are used to fabricate a selected type of excitation source.

The characteristic wavelength of a source of excitation energy may be selected based upon a choice of luminescent markers that are used in the assay analysis. In some implementations, the characteristic wavelength of a source of excitation energy is selected for direct excitation (e.g., single photon excitation) of a chosen fluorophore. In some implementations, the characteristic wavelength of a source of excitation energy is selected for indirect excitation (e.g., multi-photon excitation or harmonic conversion to a wavelength that will provide direct excitation). In some embodiments, excitation energy may be generated by a light source that is configured to generate excitation energy at a particular wavelength for application to a sample well. In some embodiments, a characteristic wavelength of the excitation source may be less than a characteristic wavelength of corresponding emission from the sample. In some implementations, a characteristic wavelength of the excitation source may be greater than a characteristic wavelength of emission from the sample, and excitation of the sample may occur through multi-photon absorption.

The excitation source may include a battery or any other power supply, which may be located somewhere other than the integrated bioanalysis device. For example, the excitation source may be located in an instrument and the power may be coupled to the integrated bioanalysis device via conducting wires and connectors.

VII. Method of Use, Instrument Operation and User Interface

The instrument 2-120 may be controlled using software and/or hardware. For example, the instrument may be controlled using a processing device 1-123, such as an ASIC, an FPGA and/or a general purpose processor executing software.

FIG. 9-1 illustrates a flowchart of operation of the instrument 2-120 according to some embodiments. After a user has acquired a specimen to analyze, the user begins a new analysis at act 9-101. This may be done by providing an indication to the instrument 2-120 via the user interface 2-125 by, e.g., pressing a button. At act 9-103, the instrument 2-120 checks whether the assay chip 2-110 from a previously performed analysis is still inserted in the instrument 2-120. If it is determined that an old chip is present, then the power to excitation source may be turned off at act 9-105, the user is prompted at act 9-107 to eject the previous chip using an indicator of the user interface 2-125 and the instrument 2-120 waits for the old chip to be ejected at act 9-109.

When the previous chip is ejected by the user, or if the instrument 2-120 determined at act 9-103 that the previous chip was already removed, the user is prompted to insert a new assay chip 2-110 for the new analysis at act 9-111. The instrument 2-120 then waits for the new assay chip 2-110 to be inserted at act 9-113. When the user inserts the new chip, the user is prompted at act 9-115 by an indicator of the user interface 2-125to place the specimen to be analyzed onto the exposed top surface of the assay chip 2-110 and also prompted to close the lid on the instrument 2-120. The instrument 2-120 then waits for the lid to be closed at act 9-117. When the lid is closed by the user, at act 9-119 the excitation source may be driven to produce excitation energy for exciting the sample portions of the specimen present in the sample wells of the assay chip 2-110. At act 9-121, the emission energy from the samples is detected by the sensor 2-122 and data from the sensor 2-122 is streamed to the processing device 2-123 for analysis. In some embodiments, the data may be streamed to external computing device 2-130. At act 2-123, the instrument 2-120 checks whether the data acquisition is complete. The data acquisition may be complete after a particular length of time, a particular number of excitation pulses from the excitation source or one a particular target has been identified. When the data acquisition is completed, the data analysis is finished at 9-125.

FIG. 9-2 illustrates an example self-calibration routine according to some embodiments. The calibration routine may be executed at any suitable time prior to the analysis of a specimen. For example, it may be done once by the manufacturer for each instrument prior to shipment to the end user. Alternatively, the end user may perform a calibration at any suitable time. As discussed above, the instrument 2-120 is capable of distinguishing between emission energy having different wavelengths emitted from different samples. The instrument 2-120 and/or computing device 2-130 may be calibrated with calibration associated with each particular color of light associated with, for example, a luminescent tag used to tag molecules of a specimen being analyzed. In this way, the precise output signal associated with a particular color may be determined.

To calibrate the device, a calibration specimen associated with a single luminescent tag is provided to the instrument 2-120 one at a time. The self-calibration begins at act 9-201 when a user places a specimen comprising luminescent tags that emit emission energy of a single wavelength on an assay chip 2-110 and inserts the assay chip 2-110 into the instrument 2-120. Using the user interface 2-125, the user instructs the instrument 2-120 to begin the self-calibration. In response, at act 9-203, the instrument 2-120 runs the calibration analysis by illuminating the assay chip 2-110 with excitation energy and measuring the single wavelength emission energy from the calibration specimen. The instrument 2-120 may then, at act 9-205, save the detection pattern measured on the array of sub-sensors of the sensor 2-122 for each pixel of the sensor array. The detection pattern for each luminescent tag may be considered a detection signature associated with the luminescent tag. In this way, the signatures may be used as a training data set used to analyze the data received from unknown samples analyzed in subsequent analysis runs.

The above calibration routine may then be executed for every calibration specimen associated with a single luminescent tag. In this way, each sensor 2-122 of the array of pixels is associated with calibration data that may be used to determine the luminescent tag present in a sample well during a subsequent analysis implemented at act 9-207 after the competition of the calibration routine.

FIG. 9-3 further illustrates how the calibration data may be acquired and used to analyze the data according to some embodiments. At act 9-301 calibration data is obtained from the sensors. This may be done using the aforementioned self-calibration routine. At act 9-303, a transformation matrix is generated based on the calibration data. The transformation matrix maps sensor data to the emission wavelength of a sample and is a m×n matrix, where m is the number of luminescent tags with different emission wavelengths and n is the number of sub-sensors used to detect the emission energy per pixel. Thus, each column of the transformation matrix represents the calibration values for the sensor. For example, if there are four sub-sensors per pixel and five different luminescent tags, then the transformation matrix is a 4×5 matrix (i.e., four rows and five columns) and each column is associated with a different luminescent tag, the values in the column corresponding to the measured values obtained from the sub-sensors during the self-calibration routine. In some embodiments, each pixel may have its own transformation matrix. In other embodiments, the calibration data from at least some of the pixels may be averaged and all the pixels may then use the same transformation matrix based on the averaged data.

At act 9-305, the analysis data associated with a bioassay is obtained from the sensors. This may be done in any of the ways described above. At act 9-307, the wavelength of the emission energy and/or the identity of the luminescent tag may be determined using the transformation matrix and the analysis data. This may be done in any suitable way. In some embodiments, the analysis data is multiplied by the pseudo-inverse of the transformation matrix, resulting in a m×1 vector. The luminescent tag associated with the vector component with the maximum value may then be identified as the luminescent tag present in the sample well. Embodiments are not limited to this technique. In some embodiments, to prevent possible pathologies that may arise when the inverse of a matrix with small values is taken, a constrained optimization routine, such as a least square method or a maximum likelihood technique, may be performed to determine the luminescent tag present in the sample well.

The foregoing method of using the calibration data to analyze data from the sensors may be implement by any suitable processor. For example, processing device 2-123 of the instrument 2-120 may perform the analysis, or computing device 2-130 may perform the analysis.

IX. Computing Device

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a suitable computing system environment 1000 on which embodiments may be implemented. For example, computing device 2-130 of FIG. 2-1 may be implemented according to the computing system environment 1000. Additionally, the computing system environment 1000 may act as a control system that is programmed to control the instrument to perform an assay. For example, the control system may control the excitation source to emit and direct light towards the sample wells of the assay chip; control the sensors to allow detection of emission light from one or more samples in the sample wells; and analyze signals from the sensors to identify, e.g., by analyzing the spatial distribution of the emission energy, the sample present in a sample well. The computing system environment 1000 is only one example of a suitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the invention. Neither should the computing environment 1000 be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in the exemplary operating environment 1000.

Embodiments are operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with the invention include, but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, distributed computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

The computing environment may execute computer-executable instructions, such as program modules. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.

With reference to FIG. 10, an exemplary system for implementing the invention includes a general purpose computing device in the form of a computer 1010. Components of computer 1010 may include, but are not limited to, a processing unit 1020, a system memory 1030, and a system bus 1021 that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit 1020. The system bus 1021 may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus also known as Mezzanine bus.

Computer 1010 typically includes a variety of computer readable media. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by computer 1010 and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes both volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can accessed by computer 1010. Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of the any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer readable media.

The system memory 1030 includes computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) 1031 and random access memory (RAM) 1032. A basic input/output system 1033 (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer 1010, such as during start-up, is typically stored in ROM 1031. RAM 1032 typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/or presently being operated on by processing unit 1020. By way of example, and not limitation, FIG. 10 illustrates operating system 1034, application programs 1035, other program modules 1036, and program data 1037.

The computer 1010 may also include other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. By way of example only, FIG. 10 illustrates a hard disk drive 1041 that reads from or writes to non-removable, nonvolatile magnetic media, a magnetic disk drive 1051 that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile magnetic disk 1052, and an optical disk drive 1055 that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile optical disk 1056 such as a CD ROM or other optical media. Other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media that can be used in the exemplary operating environment include, but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memory cards, digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM, solid state ROM, and the like. The hard disk drive 1041 is typically connected to the system bus 1021 through an non-removable memory interface such as interface 1040, and magnetic disk drive 1051 and optical disk drive 1055 are typically connected to the system bus 1021 by a removable memory interface, such as interface 1050.

The drives and their associated computer storage media discussed above and illustrated in FIG. 10, provide storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the computer 1010. In FIG. 10, for example, hard disk drive 1041 is illustrated as storing operating system 1044, application programs 1045, other program modules 1046, and program data 1047. Note that these components can either be the same as or different from operating system 1034, application programs 1035, other program modules 1036, and program data 1037. Operating system 1044, application programs 1045, other program modules 1046, and program data 1047 are given different numbers here to illustrate that, at a minimum, they are different copies. A user may enter commands and information into the computer 1010 through input devices such as a keyboard 1062 and pointing device 1061, commonly referred to as a mouse, trackball or touch pad. Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit 1020 through a user input interface 1060 that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interface and bus structures, such as a parallel port, game port or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor 1091 or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus 1021 via an interface, such as a video interface 1090. In addition to the monitor, computers may also include other peripheral output devices such as speakers 1097 and printer 1096, which may be connected through a output peripheral interface 1095.

The computer 1010 may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer 1080. The remote computer 1080 may be a personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to the computer 1010, although only a memory storage device 1081 has been illustrated in FIG. 10. The logical connections depicted in FIG. 10 include a local area network (LAN) 1071 and a wide area network (WAN) 1073, but may also include other networks. Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets and the Internet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 1010 is connected to the LAN 1071 through a network interface or adapter 1070. When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 1010 typically includes a modem 1072 or other means for establishing communications over the WAN 1073, such as the Internet. The modem 1072, which may be internal or external, may be connected to the system bus 1021 via the user input interface 1060, or other appropriate mechanism. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 1010, or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device. By way of example, and not limitation, FIG. 10 illustrates remote application programs 1085 as residing on memory device 1081. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used.

VIII. Conclusion

Having thus described several aspects of at least one embodiment of this invention, it is to be appreciated that various alterations, modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art.

Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be part of this disclosure, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the invention. Further, though advantages of the present invention are indicated, it should be appreciated that not every embodiment of the invention will include every described advantage. Some embodiments may not implement any features described as advantageous herein and in some instances. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings are by way of example only.

The above-described embodiments of the present invention can be implemented in any of numerous ways. For example, the embodiments may be implemented using hardware, software or a combination thereof. When implemented in software, the software code can be executed on any suitable processor or collection of processors, whether provided in a single computer or distributed among multiple computers. Such processors may be implemented as integrated circuits, with one or more processors in an integrated circuit component, including commercially available integrated circuit components known in the art by names such as CPU chips, GPU chips, microprocessor, microcontroller, or co-processor. Alternatively, a processor may be implemented in custom circuitry, such as an ASIC, or semicustom circuitry resulting from configuring a programmable logic device. As yet a further alternative, a processor may be a portion of a larger circuit or semiconductor device, whether commercially available, semi-custom or custom. As a specific example, some commercially available microprocessors have multiple cores such that one or a subset of those cores may constitute a processor. Though, a processor may be implemented using circuitry in any suitable format.

Further, it should be appreciated that a computer may be embodied in any of a number of forms, such as a rack-mounted computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, or a tablet computer. Additionally, a computer may be embedded in a device not generally regarded as a computer but with suitable processing capabilities, including a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a smart phone or any other suitable portable or fixed electronic device.

Also, a computer may have one or more input and output devices. These devices can be used, among other things, to present a user interface. Examples of output devices that can be used to provide a user interface include printers or display screens for visual presentation of output and speakers or other sound generating devices for audible presentation of output. Examples of input devices that can be used for a user interface include keyboards, and pointing devices, such as mice, touch pads, and digitizing tablets. As another example, a computer may receive input information through speech recognition or in other audible format.

Such computers may be interconnected by one or more networks in any suitable form, including as a local area network or a wide area network, such as an enterprise network or the Internet. Such networks may be based on any suitable technology and may operate according to any suitable protocol and may include wireless networks, wired networks or fiber optic networks.

Also, the various methods or processes outlined herein may be coded as software that is executable on one or more processors that employ any one of a variety of operating systems or platforms. Additionally, such software may be written using any of a number of suitable programming languages and/or programming or scripting tools, and also may be compiled as executable machine language code or intermediate code that is executed on a framework or virtual machine.

In this respect, the invention may be embodied as a computer readable storage medium (or multiple computer readable media) (e.g., a computer memory, one or more floppy discs, compact discs (CD), optical discs, digital video disks (DVD), magnetic tapes, flash memories, circuit configurations in Field Programmable Gate Arrays or other semiconductor devices, or other tangible computer storage medium) encoded with one or more programs that, when executed on one or more computers or other processors, perform methods that implement the various embodiments of the invention discussed above. As is apparent from the foregoing examples, a computer readable storage medium may retain information for a sufficient time to provide computer-executable instructions in a non-transitory form. Such a computer readable storage medium or media can be transportable, such that the program or programs stored thereon can be loaded onto one or more different computers or other processors to implement various aspects of the present invention as discussed above. As used herein, the term “computer-readable storage medium” encompasses only a computer-readable medium that can be considered to be a manufacture (i.e., article of manufacture) or a machine. Alternatively or additionally, the invention may be embodied as a computer readable medium other than a computer-readable storage medium, such as a propagating signal.

The terms “program” or “software” are used herein in a generic sense to refer to any type of computer code or set of computer-executable instructions that can be employed to program a computer or other processor to implement various aspects of the present invention as discussed above. Additionally, it should be appreciated that according to one aspect of this embodiment, one or more computer programs that when executed perform methods of the present invention need not reside on a single computer or processor, but may be distributed in a modular fashion amongst a number of different computers or processors to implement various aspects of the present invention.

Computer-executable instructions may be in many forms, such as program modules, executed by one or more computers or other devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Typically the functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments.

Also, data structures may be stored in computer-readable media in any suitable form. For simplicity of illustration, data structures may be shown to have fields that are related through location in the data structure. Such relationships may likewise be achieved by assigning storage for the fields with locations in a computer-readable medium that conveys relationship between the fields. However, any suitable mechanism may be used to establish a relationship between information in fields of a data structure, including through the use of pointers, tags or other mechanisms that establish relationship between data elements.

Various aspects of the present invention may be used alone, in combination, or in a variety of arrangements not specifically discussed in the embodiments described in the foregoing and is therefore not limited in its application to the details and arrangement of components set forth in the foregoing description or illustrated in the drawings. For example, aspects described in one embodiment may be combined in any manner with aspects described in other embodiments.

Also, the invention may be embodied as a method, of which an example has been provided. The acts performed as part of the method may be ordered in any suitable way. Accordingly, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are performed in an order different than illustrated, which may include performing some acts simultaneously, even though shown as sequential acts in illustrative embodiments.

Use of ordinal terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements.

Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having,” “containing,” “involving,” and variations thereof herein, is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An assay chip comprising: a sample well configured to receive a sample, which, when excited, emits emission energy; at least one element that directs the emission energy in a particular direction, wherein the at least one element is selected from the group consisting of a refractive element, a diffractive element, a plasmonic element and a resonator; and a light path along which the emission energy travels from the sample well toward a sensor.
 2. The assay chip of claim 1, wherein the assay chip is configured to be used in only a single biological assay prior to disposal.
 3. The assay chip of claim 1, wherein the at least one element comprises at least one lens configured to direct the emission energy towards the sensor.
 4. The assay chip of claim 3, wherein the at least one lens is a refractive lens.
 5. The assay chip of claim 1, wherein the light path comprises at least one antireflection layer configured to reduce the reflection of the emission energy at one or more interfaces of the assay chip.
 6. The assay chip of claim 1, wherein the assay chip further comprises a disposable frame.
 7. The assay chip of claim 1, wherein the at least one element comprises a concentric ring grating.
 8. The assay chip of claim 7, wherein the concentric ring grating is configured to increase the amount of excitation light from an excitation light source that couples into the sample well and excites the sample.
 9. The assay chip of claim 8, wherein the concentric ring grating is further configured to direct the emission energy towards the sensor.
 10. The assay chip of claim 7, wherein the concentric ring grating is an aperiodic concentric ring grating.
 11. The assay chip of claim 3, wherein the at least one lens is a diffractive lens.
 12. The assay chip of claim 1, wherein the at least one element comprises a dielectric resonator antenna.
 13. An instrument configured to interface with an assay chip comprising a plurality of sample wells, each sample well of the plurality of sample wells configured to receive a sample, the instrument comprising: at least one excitation light source configured to excite the sample of at least a portion of the plurality of sample wells; a plurality of sensors, each sensor of the plurality of sensors corresponding to a sample well of the plurality of sample wells, wherein each sensor of the plurality of sensors is configured to detect emission energy from the sample in a respective sample well; and at least one optical element configured to direct the emission energy from each sample well of the plurality of sample wells towards a respective sensor of the plurality of sensors.
 14. The instrument of claim 13, further comprising: a polychroic mirror configured to reflect excitation light from the at least one excitation light source towards the assay chip and transmit the emission energy from the plurality of samples towards the plurality of sensors.
 15. The instrument of claim 13, wherein the at least one optical element comprises a relay lens.
 16. The instrument of claim 13, wherein the at least one excitation light source comprises a plurality of light sources, each light source of the plurality of light sources emitting excitation light at one or more of a plurality of wavelengths.
 17. The instrument of claim 16, further comprising a wavelength combiner for spatially overlapping the light emitted from each of the plurality of light sources.
 18. The instrument of claim 13, wherein the at least one excitation light source comprises a pulsed light source.
 19. The instrument of claim 13, further comprising at least one spectral filter configured to transmit the emission energy and absorb and/or reflect excitation light from the at least one excitation light source.
 20. The instrument of claim 13, further comprising at least one spectral sorting element for spatially separating emission energy of a first wavelength from emission energy of a second wavelength.
 21. The instrument of claim 20, wherein the at least one spectral sorting element comprises a diffractive optical element.
 22. The instrument of claim 21, wherein the diffractive optical element both chromatically disperses the emission energy and focuses the emission energy.
 23. The instrument of claim 21, wherein the diffractive optical element comprises an offset Fresnel lens.
 24. The instrument of claim 20, wherein the at least one spectral sorting element is a light-filtering element.
 25. The instrument of claim 13, further comprising a control system that is programmed to (i) direct excitation light to said plurality of sample wells, (ii) detect signals at said plurality of sensors from said plurality of wells, and (iii) use a spatial distribution pattern of said signals to identify said sample or subunit thereof.
 26. An apparatus comprising: an assay chip comprising a plurality of pixels, each of the plurality of pixels comprising: a sample well configured to receive a sample, which, when excited, emits emission energy; at least one element for directing the emission energy in a particular direction, wherein the at least one element is selected from the group consisting of a refractive element, a diffractive element, a plasmonic element and a resonator; and a light path along which the emission energy travels from the sample well toward a sensor; and an instrument configured to interface with the assay chip, the instrument comprising: at least one excitation light source configured to excite the sample in each sample well; a plurality of sensors, each sensor of the plurality of sensors corresponding to a respective sample well, wherein each sensor of the plurality of sensors is configured to detect emission energy from the sample in the respective sample well; and at least one optical element configured to direct the emission energy from each sample well towards a respective sensor of the plurality of sensors.
 27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the assay chip is configured to be connected to and removed from the instrument.
 28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein, when the assay chip is connected to the instrument, the optical distance between a sample well of the plurality of sample wells and the corresponding sensor of the plurality of sensors is less than 30 cm.
 29. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein, when the assay chip is connected to the instrument, the optical distance between a sample well of the plurality of sample wells and the corresponding sensor of the plurality of sensors is less than 5 cm.
 30. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein, when the assay chip is connected to the instrument, the optical distance between a sample well of the plurality of sample wells and the corresponding sensor of the plurality of sensors is less than 1 cm.
 31. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the instrument is portable.
 32. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein: each sample comprises a luminescent tag that emits the emission energy within one wavelength band of a plurality of wavelength bands; and each sensor of the plurality of sensors comprises a sub-sensor configured to detect the emission energy at each of the plurality of wavelength bands.
 33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein each sensor of the plurality of sensors comprises at least two sub-sensors.
 34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein each sensor of the plurality of sensors comprises at least four sub-sensors.
 35. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the instrument further comprises at least one wavelength dependent element that directs emission energy of a first wavelength towards a first sub-sensor of the at least two sub-sensors and directs emission energy of a second wavelength towards a second sub-sensor of the at least two sub-sensors.
 36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the at least one wavelength dependent element is a diffractive optical element.
 37. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the at least one wavelength dependent element is a spectral filter.
 38. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the at least one excitation source emits pulsed light.
 39. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein: a first luminescent tag associated with a first sample is excited by light of a first wavelength but is not excited by light of a second wavelength; and a second luminescent tag associated with a second sample is excited by light of the second wavelength but is not excited by light of the first wavelength.
 40. A method of analyzing a specimen, the method comprising: providing the specimen on the top surface of an assay chip comprising a plurality of sample wells; aligning the chip with an instrument comprising at least one excitation light source and at least one sensor; exciting a sample from the specimen in at least one of the plurality of sample wells with excitation light from the at least one excitation light source; and detecting, with the at least one sensor, emission energy generated by the sample in the at least one sample well in response to excitation by the excitation light.
 41. The method of claim 40, further comprising: determining, based on the detection of the emission energy, a type of the molecule that emitted the emission energy.
 42. The method of claim 41, wherein determining the type of molecule comprises: measuring a spectral property of the emission energy.
 43. The method of claim 41, wherein determining the type of molecule further comprises: determining the wavelength of the excitation light that excited the sample.
 44. The method of claim 40, wherein the at least one excitation light source emits continuous wave light.
 45. The method of claim 40, wherein the at least one excitation light source emits pulsed light.
 46. The method of claim 40, wherein the at least one excitation light source comprises a plurality of excitation light sources, each excitation light source of the plurality of excitation light sources emitting light of a different wavelength.
 47. The method of claim 40, wherein the sample comprises at least one nucleotide attached to a fluorophore.
 48. A method for sequencing a target nucleic acid molecule, comprising: (a) providing a chip adjacent to an instrument that includes an excitation source and a sensor, wherein said chip includes at least one well that is operatively coupled to said excitation source and said sensor when said chip is at a sensing position of said instrument, and wherein said well contains said target nucleic acid molecule, a polymerizing enzyme and a plurality of types of nucleotides or nucleotide analogs; (b) with said chip at said sensing position, performing an extension reaction at a priming location of said target nucleic acid molecule in the presence of said polymerizing enzyme to sequentially incorporate said nucleotides or nucleotide analogs into a growing strand that is complementary to said target nucleic acid molecule, wherein upon incorporation and excitation by excitation energy from said excitation source, said nucleotides or nucleotides analogs emit signals in said well; (c) using said sensor to detect spatial and/or temporal distribution patterns of said signals that are distinguishable for said plurality of types of nucleotides or nucleotide analogs; and (d) identifying said nucleotides or nucleotide analogs based on said spatial and/or temporal distribution patterns of said signals, thereby sequencing said target nucleic acid molecule.
 49. The method of claim 48, wherein said nucleotides or nucleotides analogs include tags that emit said signals upon incorporation in said growing strand.
 50. The method of claim 49, wherein said tags are luminescent tags.
 51. The method of claim 48, wherein said nucleotides or nucleotide analogs are identified subsequent to detecting said spatial and/or temporal distribution patterns of said signals.
 52. The method of claim 48, wherein said plurality of types of nucleotides or nucleotide analogs include four different types of nucleotides or nucleotide analogs, and wherein said spatial and/or temporal distribution patterns of said signals associated with said four different types of nucleotides or nucleotide analogs are distinguishable from one another.
 53. The method of claim 52, wherein said spatial and/or temporal distribution patterns of said signals associated with said four different types of nucleotides or nucleotide analogs are detected separately from one another.
 54. The method of claim 48, wherein said spatial and/or temporal distribution patterns of said signals are distinguishable from one another based on a shape and/or intensity distribution of each of said spatial and/or temporal distribution patterns.
 55. The method of claim 48, wherein said priming location includes a primer that is complementary to said target nucleic acid molecule.
 56. The method of claim 48, wherein (b) comprises performing a primer extension reaction using said primer hybridized to said target nucleic acid molecule to yield said growing strand.
 57. The method of claim 48, wherein said target nucleic acid molecule is double stranded.
 58. The method of claim 57, wherein said priming location is a gap or nick in said target nucleic acid molecule.
 59. The method of claim 48, wherein said polymerizing enzyme is immobilized in said well.
 60. The method of claim 59, wherein said polymerizing enzyme is immobilized at a bottom portion of said well.
 61. The method of claim 59, wherein said polymerizing enzyme is immobilized using a linker that is attached to a surface of said well.
 62. The method of claim 48, wherein said polymerizing enzyme exhibits strand displacement activity.
 63. The method of claim 48, wherein said well is among a plurality of wells in said chip.
 64. The method of claim 63, wherein said instrument includes a plurality of excitation sources operatively coupled to said plurality of wells.
 65. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to (c), said spatial and/or temporal distribution patterns of said signals are generated from said signals.
 66. A method for nucleic acid sequencing, comprising: (a) providing a chip adjacent to an instrument, wherein said chip includes a plurality of wells that are each operatively coupled to (i) an excitation source and (ii) a sensor of said instrument when said chip is at a sensing position of said instrument, and wherein an individual well of said plurality contains said target nucleic acid molecule, a polymerizing enzyme and a plurality of types of nucleotides or nucleotide analogs; (b) with said chip at said sensing position, subjecting said target nucleic acid molecule to a polymerization reaction to yield a growing strand that is complementary to said target nucleic acid molecule in the presence of said nucleotides or nucleotide analogs and said polymerizing enzyme, wherein said nucleotides or nucleotides analogs emit signals in said individual well upon excitation by excitation energy from said excitation source during incorporation; (c) using said sensor to detect spatial and/or temporal distribution patterns of said signals that are distinguishable for said plurality of types of nucleotides or nucleotide analogs; and (d) identifying a sequence of said target nucleic acid molecule based on said spatial and/or temporal distribution patterns of said signals.
 67. The method of claim 66, wherein said nucleotides or nucleotides analogs include tags that emit said signals upon incorporation in said growing strand.
 68. The method of claim 67, wherein said tags are luminescent tags.
 69. The method of claim 66, wherein said sequence is identified subsequent to detecting said spatial and/or temporal distribution patterns of said signals.
 70. The method of claim 66, wherein said plurality of types of nucleotides or nucleotide analogs include four different types of nucleotides or nucleotide analogs, and wherein said spatial and/or temporal distribution patterns of said signals associated with said four different types of nucleotides or nucleotide analogs are distinguishable from one another.
 71. The method of claim 70, wherein said spatial and/or temporal distribution patterns of said signals associated with said four different types of nucleotides or nucleotide analogs are detected separately from one another.
 72. The method of claim 66, wherein (b) comprises performing a primer extension reaction using a primer hybridized to said target nucleic acid molecule to yield said growing strand.
 73. The method of claim 66, wherein said target nucleic acid molecule is single-stranded.
 74. The method of claim 66, wherein said polymerizing enzyme is immobilized in said well.
 75. The method of claim 66, wherein said excitation source is operatively coupled to said plurality of wells.
 76. The method of claim 66, wherein (c) comprises detecting spatial and/or temporal distribution patterns of said signals.
 77. The method of claim 66, wherein said instrument includes a plurality of excitation sources that are operatively coupled to said plurality of wells.
 78. The method of claim 66, wherein said instrument includes a plurality of sensors that are operatively coupled to said plurality of wells.
 79. The method of claim 66, wherein prior to (c), said spatial and/or temporal distribution patterns of said signals are generated from said signals. 